Zheng Qinwen and Amanda Anisimova Reach Grass-Court Semifinals at HSBC Championships

LONDON, Great Britain — Top seed Zheng Qinwen and unseeded American Amanda Anisimova advanced to the semifinals of the HSBC Championships, marking their first career appearances in a grass-court semifinal on Friday.

Zheng defeated Emma Raducanu, the last British player in the tournament, in a hard-fought match. After taking the first set 6-2, Zheng faced challenges in the second set as Raducanu pulled ahead 3-0 and 4-2. However, Zheng recovered, winning the match 6-3, 6-4. Zheng cited equipment issues as a complication, noting, “I changed to a new pair of sneakers to fortify my feet during the comeback.”

Despite Raducanu’s home-crowd support and her previous success as the 2021 US Open champion, Zheng managed to regain her composure. “It was tricky in the second set… I felt my focus was dropping,” Zheng said. “But I’m just happy I got my focus back. Didn’t wait until the third set.”

In the second match of the day, Anisimova improved her head-to-head record against fellow American Emma Navarro to 4-0, winning 6-3, 6-3. After tying the first set at 3-3, Anisimova dominated the match, winning five consecutive games and never relinquishing control. “I’m so pleased,” Anisimova said. “I’m just extremely happy to be here in the semifinals.”

The semifinal match between Zheng and Anisimova is set to be a rematch, as Zheng defeated Anisimova in both of their encounters last year at the US Open and in Beijing. “Emma is such a tough player,” Anisimova reflected. “We’ve had some great battles.”

Zheng will bring a 2-0 record against Anisimova into their upcoming match, adding an extra layer of excitement to the semifinal showdown.