Bai Zhuoxuan made her debut at the Australian Open (photo provided by the interviewee)
Yesterday, the 2024 Australian Open ushered in the first match day of the main draw. The 21-year-old Luoyang youngster Bai Zhuoxuan, who made her Australian Open debut, was in a good situation to win a set first. However, affected by a leg injury, she lost two sets in a row and unfortunately stopped in the first round. Although Bai Zhuoxuan failed to go further, he gained growth and achieved a personal breakthrough.
The match of the day started between Bai Zhuoxuan and Russian player Avanetsyan.
In the first set, Bai Zhuoxuan took the lead in breaking serve in the 3rd game, while Avanisian broke back in the 6th game. The two sides fought to a 4:4 score in the first 8 games. In the 9th game, Bai Zhuoxuan won the first set with 6:4.
In the second set, the two sides broke each other's serve in the first 8 games and the battle reached 4:4. In the 9th game, Avanesian scored the winning point and led 5:4. In the 10th game, Bai Zhuoxuan saved a set point and successfully maintained serve. The two sides fought to 5:5.
At this time, the two sides were already in a stalemate. Bai Zhuoxuan's legs were injured, making it difficult to run in a wide range and hit the ball hard, and the number of mistakes when taking the initiative to attack increased significantly. In the subsequent games, although Bai Zhuoxuan tried his best, he was unable to stop the decline and lost to his opponent with a total score of 1:2.
"Participating in the main draw of the Australian Open for the first time, Bai Zhuoxuan showed high fighting spirit and also exposed the problem of lack of experience in competitions. Overall, the child has gained growth and is also experiencing the pain of transformation and improvement." Bai Zhuoxuan's father Bai Hong said in an interview with reporters.
"Thank you to the Chinese fans who cheered me on. It's a pity that my legs were injured and I am a little helpless." When interviewed after the game, Bai Zhuoxuan burst into tears. Bai Zhuoxuan expressed satisfaction with his tactical choices in the game. She said that every first time is a process of getting stronger. In the future, she will work harder in training, accumulate experience, and improve technical stability. She looks forward to one day standing on the highest podium like Li Na. (Luo Bao Media·Luoyang.com reporter Meng Shan)
