Zhang finds feet again on home turf

Zhang Shuai of China celebrates after beating Belgium's Greet Minnen during their China Open third-round match on Sunday in Beijing. Zhang won 6-2, 6-3. (Photo/Xinhua)

"I've failed over and over and over again ... And that is why I succeed."

Michael Jordan's inspiring 1997 TV commercial line has found a perfect embodiment in tennis with Chinese veteran Zhang Shuai's revival, twice from disheartening losing streaks, turning heads across the sport's community.

The 35-year-old stole the show at this year's China Open by snapping a 24-match losing streak, the longest in 52 years in the sport, with three straight wins over the past week at her home WTA1000 tournament, while rejuvenating a storied career that seemed almost done, even to some of her diehard supporters.

Anchoring Zhang's unexpected Beijing upturn was a straight-sets first-round win against 65th-ranked McCartney Kessler of the United States on Wednesday, which ended her grueling victory drought of 24 matches, spanning 603 days since the beginning of last season.

Zhang backed it up on Friday with a second-round upset of No 6 seed and US Open semifinalist Emma Navarro, also in straight sets, on the Lotus Court, lighting up the venue where she claimed her career first WTA win 15 years ago.

Then, on Sunday, she completed a homecoming hat-trick, surging into the round of 16 with a straight-sets win over Belgium's Greet Minnen.

As an unheralded wild card in 2009, Zhang took the tennis world by storm at the age of 20, when in just her second WTA match on the China Open's former central court, she stunned then world No 1 Dinara Safina of Russia, following up her first professional win over retired Czech star Iveta Benesova in her tournament debut.

Now, fighting back to winning ways when people start to write her off, Zhang chooses to laugh it off, instead of hitting back at the doubters.

"Yeah, I like to give everybody a surprise. If I keep winning, everybody will feel like nothing is a surprise," said a smiling Zhang after her win against Navarro.

"When I'm standing on these two beautiful courts, a lot of good memories come flooding back. When I was 20 years old, 15 years ago, I could beat the world No 1 on these courts, why can't I do it once more?

"After 15 years, I have a lot more experience. I've played a lot more matches ... I focus on myself. We train hard every day ... I just keep going for every point, and be patient. Yeah, there's a good result coming.

"It's perfect timing. Maybe God has a plan," said the former world No. 22, who entered this year's China Open at 595th in the WTA rankings.

Also, as a wild-card entry, and perhaps still an underdog in the draw, Zhang is approaching the prestigious home event with more ease than her younger self, after having experienced a roller coaster career that is defined by tenacity.

In a similarly uncanny pattern, Zhang suffered an eight-year, 14-match first-round losing streak at the Slams, dating back to the 2008 US Open, and was considering retirement ahead of the 2016 Australian Open, where her career took a turnaround.

She broke the Grand Slam spell with a tournament upset of then-world No 2 Simona Halep of Romania, and fought all the way to the quarterfinals in Melbourne, kicking off an upswing that took her to two WTA singles titles (Guangzhou 2017 and Lyon 2022) and two major doubles trophies at the 2019 Australian Open and 2021 US Open (alongside Samantha Stosur).

However, the pandemic derailed Zhang's rise, with the physical and mental toll taken by constant travel without returning home due to COVID-19 restrictions proving too much to handle for Zhang.

And thus began her second long struggle, resulting in a winless skid that lasted over a year and a half.

In the Open era, only one player has lost more than 24 straight matches. That came in the early days of the tour, when Sweden's Madeleine Pegel lost her first 29 matches from 1968 to 1972.

Her first home return in five years at the China Open has given Zhang fresh impetus.

"I think the special thing is, I've not been back to China for any tournament in five years. I always play really well in China, Japan, (South) Korea — the whole Asian season," said Zhang, a native of Tianjin.

"The courts, the weather, the air, everything. I feel so comfortable. I play very naturally. I play Zhang Shuai tennis.

"I don't know how many opportunities I will have to play in the China Open, but 15 years later I'm still here. It's already very good."

As one of the most affable players on the women's circuit, Zhang, who's enjoyed a good reputation in the locker rooms, said the reception she received from her fellow players after her wins last week was warm and inspiring.

"When I got back to the locker room, everybody was jumping," Zhang said on Friday. "'C'mon, Shuai, I'm so happy for you!' They hugged me, even though they had been showering, and were (wearing) nothing, they were coming to congratulate me."

World No 6 and 2023 US Open winner Coco Gauff was doing her pre-tournament interviews when Zhang ended her losing streak on Wednesday, and the American prodigy had nothing but praise for her friend's resilience.

Gauff recalled receiving a pep talk from Zhang last year after losing in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros. By then, Zhang was already struggling with her own losing streak, but she still tried to comfort Gauff.

"She said: 'Don't worry Coco. You will win a Grand Slam. I have so much belief in you. I would bet my life on it,'" Gauff told WTA Insider. "And then I won the US Open!

"I never told her that, but it stuck with me for a long time, just that she had that belief in me. I think every player on tour likes her, so it's so great to see her win. I love her. She deserves everything."