When we reflect on the careers of Ekaterina Alexandrova and Qinwen Zheng in 20 years, we are likely to remember certain points of Zheng's career but not Alexandrova's. That is meant as no offense to the Russian, but she is now 30 years old and has few titles to her name. Zheng is just 22 years old and has already won the Olympics.
None of the above mattered as far as the two players' match in the quarterfinals of the Charleston Open, however. Zheng's game does not usually translate well to clay (but hey...she did win the Olympics on Paris clay), but there was no expectation of the way Alexandrova handled her on Friday.
Perhaps it was because Zheng appeared to be dealing with a right arm issue. The cause of which was not clear. She called for medical assistance a few times, and her wrist was looked at. She was also wearing a wrap on her elbow. She played as if she did not want to be on the court, but perhaps her injury was why she looked so bad.
Ekaterina Alexandrova decimates Qinwen Zheng at the Charleston Open
The truth is that Alexandrova dominated from the start. Her forehand was on point and electric. Even a fully healthy Zheng would have had issues against the Russian. But if one did not know the WTA rankings ahead of the match (Zheng is currently No. 8, and Alexandrova is No. 26), one might have thought they were watching the higher-ranked player dominate.
After taking the first set 6-1, Alexandrova got an early break from Zheng in the second set, and any drama of the match was gone. Still, Zheng kept mis-hitting shots, especially her backhand, and Alexandrova made every service game for the Chinese player difficult.
Alexandrova's career high in singles is No. 15. She has looked incredible at the Charleston Open and has not dropped more than three games leading up to her quarterfinal match against Zheng. Ultimately, she dropped five against the Chinese player and won 6-1 6-4. If Alexandrova wins the tournament, she will move up to No. 17.