Sports Desk:

Zheng Qinwen ended world number one Iga Swiatek’s 25-game unbeaten streak at Roland Garros on Thursday to become the first Chinese player to reach an Olympic Games tennis singles final as Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz target semifinal berths in the men’s event.

Seventh-ranked Zheng triumphed 6-2, 7-5 and will face either Croatia’s Donna Vekic or Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia in the gold medal match.

“I feel more than just happy — happy isn’t enough to describe how I feel,” said Zheng, who had played back-to-back three-hour matches to make the semifinal.

By making the final, Zheng is the first Chinese man or woman to reach an Olympic singles gold medal match, bettering the run of Li Na who finished fourth in the women’s event at Beijing in 2008.

Meanwhile, Djokovic, still seeking an elusive Olympic gold medal, takes on Stefanos Tsitsipas on the same Court Philippe Chatrier where in 2021 he battled back from two sets to defeat the Greek in the French Open final.

On the other hand, world number three Carlos Alcaraz edged closer to an Olympic Games showdown against Novak Djokovic on Thursday when he booked his place in the semifinals by defeating 13th-ranked Tommy Paul of the United States. Source: AFP, Paris