No. 1 Iga Swiatek loses to Zheng Qinwen of China in the semifinals at the Paris Olympics

PARIS (AP) — Iga Swiatek knew she was capable, or at least should be, of winning a gold medal at the Paris Olympics. She's ranked No. 1, after all. Owns five Grand Slam titles, including four on the red clay courts at Roland Garros, which hosts the French Open and is being used for Summer Games matches. Had won 25 consecutive matches at the place, even.

Her semifinal opponent, Zheng Qinwen, says she knew she was capable of beating Swiatek. Just never had done it. Was 0-6 head-to-head before Thursday. So, really, she was only hoping she could do it. And, most of all, hoping she could secure the first singles medal for China in tennis since the sport returned to the Olympics in 1988.

Zheng managed to make it happen, eliminating Swiatek 6-2, 7-5 and earning the right to play for gold on Saturday, then falling on her back and caking her red-and-yellow uniform with the rust-colored clay.

“It really does mean everything. I always knew I could do it. But it’s different (if) you know you can — and you show it. And today, I really showed it,” said the 21-year-old Zheng, who will play Donna Vekic of Croatia in the final.

“I’m so proud of myself,” Zheng added. “I’m so proud for my country.”

It's not clear what Swiatek thought about the way the day went.

That's because she skipped any questions from print reporters in the mixed zone area for interviews. Her face flushed and eyes red, Swiatek did not break stride as she passed journalists, saying only: “Sorry. Next time.”

The 13th-seeded Vekic, a semifinalist at Wimbledon last month, beat unseeded Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia 6-4, 6-0 on Thursday night. Vekic eliminated No. 2 Coco Gauff, the 20-year-old American who is the reigning U.S. Open champion, in the third round.

The outcome between Swiatek and Zheng was hard to foresee, given their head-to-head record entering the day and other factors. Swiatek has led the WTA rankings for nearly every week since April 2022, while Zheng is No. 7.

Plus, Swiatek appeared to be getting back into the match with a 4-0 lead in the second set.

Maybe until now, Zheng acknowledged, she wouldn't have been able to turn that deficit around.

“Before, when I’m at this stage, I'd let the match go. I'd say, ‘OK, I lose the second set; let’s fight for the third set.’ But today, no. I didn’t use this mentality,” she explained. “I said: ‘I’m just going to fight every single point. Let’s see what’s going to happen. I’m going to play smart. Wait for my chance.’ Little by little, I started to get back in the match.”

Swiatek's previous dominance against Zheng included a victory in the same stadium during the fourth round of the 2022 French Open. Zheng also took the first set of that one, the only set dropped by Swiatek during that event.

Things did not quite gone so smoothly this week for the 23-year-old from Poland.

In the quarterfinals Wednesday, Swiatek was forced to three sets and got the wind knocked out of her when she was hit by a ball off the racket of opponent Danielle Collins, who wound up retiring from the match because of an injured stomach muscle. Afterward, Collins, an American, gave Swiatek a lecture about being “insincere” when they spoke on court.

Surprisingly, perhaps, it was Zheng who made the first dent, taking advantage of three unforced errors by Swiatek, including a game-ending double-fault, to break for a 2-1 lead. That lead, such as it was, lasted all of five minutes, because Swiatek — backed by clap-accompanied shouts of “Iga! Iga!” — broke right back to 2-all.

But then Zheng, her big serve and big groundstrokes clicking, began to take full advantage of Swiatek’s many misses and reeled off four games in a row.

After the opening set, Swiatek draped a white towel over her shoulders, grabbed her equipment bag and headed to the locker room to take a break, which is allowed in tennis. Maybe the pause allowed her to recalibrate. Maybe it caused Zheng to lose her focus. Whatever the case, the match’s entire complexion shifted immediately.

But not forever.

When play resumed, Swiatek was back to being her best self, hitting heavy, confident forehands, dictating points. A double-fault by Zheng gave Swiatek a 4-0 edge in the second set. Yet Zheng didn’t concede a thing. Suddenly, it was 4-4, and Swiatek never recovered.

“I always wanted to be one of the athletes who can get a medal for China, for our country, and right now I’m one of them. But I know the fight is not over. It's not the end,” Zheng said. “I made history already, but I don’t want to stop here.”

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games