Zheng Qinwen brought Iga Swiatek's 25-match winning streak at Roland Garros to an end on Thursday, becoming the first Chinese player to advance to an Olympic Games singles final, while Carlos Alcaraz edged closer to a potential clash with Novak Djokovic. Meanwhile, defending champion Alexander Zverev was ousted, falling to an energized Lorenzo Musetti of Italy in the quarterfinals. Zheng, ranked seventh, secured a 6-2, 7-5 victory over the world's top-ranked player Swiatek and will next face either Croatia's Donna Vekic or Slovakia's Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the gold medal match.
"I am beyond happy – mere happiness doesn't capture my feelings," Zheng expressed, having battled through two consecutive three-hour matches to reach the semifinals. "If I were asked to play another three hours for my country, I would. It was a phenomenal match. Beating Iga is no small feat." Swiatek, a four-time French Open champion at Roland Garros, entered the match at the sweltering Court Philippe Chatrier having remained undefeated in Paris since 2021. The 23-year-old had previously defeated Zheng in all six of their prior encounters.
However, Swiatek was overpowered by the 21-year-old Australian Open finalist, who broke the Polish player's serve three times in the first set. Swiatek seemed revitalized after a 10-minute break, taking an early 4-0 lead in the second set, but Zheng rallied back, recovering both breaks to level at 4-4. Zheng then broke Swiatek again, leading 6-5, and sealed the victory in the subsequent game.
By reaching the final, Zheng became the first Chinese man or woman to contest an Olympic singles gold medal match, surpassing Li Na's fourth-place finish in the women's event at Beijing 2008. China's sole Olympic tennis gold was achieved by Li Ting and Sun Tiantian in the women's doubles at Athens 2004. Alcaraz, returning to Roland Garros where he claimed his first French Open title in June, became the youngest Olympic semifinalist since Djokovic in 2008.
The second seed overcame 13th-ranked Tommy Paul of the United States 6-3, 7-6 (9/7), recovering from a break down in the second set and saving a set point in the tie-break. "It's all about the fight," Alcaraz remarked, having played the day before in a doubles match with Rafael Nadal that likely marked the veteran's final appearance at Roland Garros. The 21-year-old will next face either Casper Ruud or Felix Auger-Aliassime for a spot in the final. Wimbledon semifinalist Musetti surprised Zverev 7-5, 7-5, capitalizing on 20 winners as the 16th-ranked Italian continued his impressive Olympic campaign.
The 22-year-old had competed in a tour final in Umag, Croatia, the previous Saturday night and arrived in Paris just hours before his first-round match. Musetti has advanced to the semifinals without losing a set, becoming the first Italian man to reach the singles semifinals since tennis' return to the Olympics in Seoul 1988.
