Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz are one step away from a dream Olympic final but Zheng Qinwen stole the show at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on Thursday, 1 August.

Zheng of the People’s Republic of China produced the performance of her career, beating ‘Queen of Clay’ Iga Swiatek 6-2, 7-5 for a shot at Olympic gold.

Zheng’s historic rout of world No.1 Swiatek sent her into the final of the women’s singles tournament, becoming the first Chinese tennis player to make it this far at the Olympics.

She has now improved on the previous-best result, which she shared with two-time Grand Slam winner Li Na. Li reached the last four at Beijing 2008 before she was ousted in the bronze-medal match.

“I’ve always envisioned this moment. I have been looking forward to Paris 2024 and mentioned it back in 2022,” Zheng told Olympics.com.

“However, anticipation is one thing and achieving it is another. I am incredibly proud to have created this historic moment. I understand that the journey is far from over, but please allow me to savour this victory moment.”

Guaranteed a medal with her appearance in the final, Zheng will go home as China’s most successful tennis player ever at the Olympics.

Zheng has been a revelation at her first Olympic Games, showing dogged determination en route to the women’s singles final. She prevailed in two back-to-back three-hour matches, including an exhausting marathon contest against three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber in the quarter-finals.

“When I lay down and looked up at the sky, I shouted in triumph. It’s truly indescribable how thrilled I am right now,” Zheng said.

“I defeated the world No. 1. The player who has been reigning champion at Roland-Garros for years. This journey has not been easy. Additionally, having played over six hours on court in the past few days, and spending around eight hours on court within three days, I felt like I was driven by sheer determination.”

Zheng will face Croatia’s Donna Vekic in the women’s singles final on Saturday, 3 August for a shot at Olympic gold. Vekic was on fire in her semi-final, defeating Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-4, 6-0.