PARIS: Zheng Qinwen ended Iga Swiatek's 25-match unbeaten streak at Roland Garros on Thursday to become the first Chinese player to reach the Olympic singles final, as Carlos Alcaraz edged closer to a showdown with Novak Djokovic.
Defending champion Alexander Zverev, however, was defeated in the quarterfinals by an elated Lorenzo Musetti of Italy.
Zheng, ranked seventh, triumphed 6-2, 7-5 over world No. 1 Swiatek and will face either Croatia's Donna Vekic or Slovakia's Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the gold medal match. “I don't feel just happy, happy is not enough to describe how I feel,” said Zheng, who had played back-to-back three-hour matches to reach the semifinals.
“If you asked me to play another three hours for my country, I would. It was an incredible match. Beating Iga is not easy.”
Swiatek, a four-time French Open champion at Roland Garros, took to the court at a scorching Court Philippe Chatrier, having not lost in Paris since 2021.
The 23-year-old had defeated Zheng in all six of their previous encounters.
However, she was knocked off the court by the powerful 21-year-old Australian Open finalist, who broke her serve three times at the post in the opening set.
Swiatek appeared to have recovered from a 10-minute break and quickly took a 4-0 lead in the second set, before Zheng rallied, recovering both breaks to make it 4-4.
The Chinese star made another break, taking a 6-5 lead against the error-plagued Swiatek, and took the win in the next game.
By reaching the final, Zheng becomes the first Chinese man or woman to win gold in an Olympic singles event, surpassing Li Na, who finished fourth in the women's event in Beijing in 2008.
China's only Olympic gold in tennis came courtesy of Li Ting and Sun Tiantian in the women's doubles in Athens in 2004.
Alcaraz, returning to Roland Garros, where he won his first French Open in June, became the youngest Olympic semifinalist since Djokovic in 2008.
The second seed defeated 13th-ranked Tommy Paul of the United States 6-3, 7-6 (9/7) after recovering from a second-set deficit and saving a set point in the tie-break.
“It’s all about the fight,” said Alcaraz, who was playing a day after he and Rafael Nadal suffered a heartbreaking doubles defeat in what was likely the veteran’s final appearance at Roland Garros.
The 21-year-old will face either Casper Ruud or Felix Auger-Aliassime for a place in the final.
Wimbledon semi-finalist Musetti shocked Zverev 7-5, 7-5 after 20 wins, as the 16th-ranked Italian continued his meteoric Olympic run.
The 22-year-old was playing the tour final in Umag, Croatia, on Saturday night and only arrived in Paris on Sunday morning, hours before his first-round clash.
Musetti reached the semifinals without dropping a set, becoming the first Italian to reach the singles semifinals since tennis returned to the Olympics in Seoul in 1988.
The Italian will face top seed Djokovic, who beat him in the Wimbledon semifinals, or Stefanos Tsitsipas for a spot in the gold medal final.
Djokovic, still seeking an elusive Olympic gold to add to his 24 Grand Slam titles, will face Tsitsipas on the same court where he came back from two sets down to defeat the Greek in the 2021 French Open final.
The Serb breezed through the first three rounds in Paris and will be buoyed by his 11-2 head-to-head record against Tsitsipas.
That streak also includes a victory in the 2023 Australian Open final, while Tsitsipas' last win over Djokovic came in 2019.
Paul will return to action later on Thursday, when he partners with Taylor Fritz in a men's doubles quarter-final that could spell the end of Andy Murray's career.
Murray and Dan Evans will face the third seeds from the United States for a place in the semi-finals.
Murray, a former world number one and three-time Grand Slam champion, has already announced his intention to retire after the Olympics.
The 37-year-old and Evans have had a rollercoaster Olympics so far, saving seven match points in two rounds.
