Second seeded tennis player Simona Halep was sensationally dumped
from the Australian Open in the first round on Tuesday January 19,2016 by Chinese
qualifier Zhang Shuai, who earned her first Grand Slam win in 15
attempts.
The Romanian, who has been struggling with a niggling achilles
injury, had no answers to Zhang’s dominant baseline game with the
Chinese number four scoring a stunning 6-4, 6-3 win on Margaret Court
Arena.
The odds had been heavily stacked in Halep’s favour with Zhang
playing 14 Grand Slam matches ahead of Tuesday and losing them all --
the worst record of any top 300 player.
But she was a different player on Margaret Court Arena, punishing the
Romanian’s scrappy service game while dominating at the net and from
the baseline.
“I’m so excited that I played so well,” said Zhang, who burst into
tears during her courtside interview as the enormity of the upset sunk
in and the crowd gave her a generous ovation.
“I’m so happy, so excited at beating the world’s number two player.”
Zhang Shuai(27) ranked 133 in the world, said it was the “most memorable moment of my tennis life”.
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