On paper, the second-round matchup of the Miami Open between Qinwen Zheng and Lauren Davis appeared to be one where the Chinese player would easily take care of business against the American. Unfortunately for Davis, that is exactly what happened.
Zheng raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first set, and none of the games were overly close. The Chinese player overpowered her opponent. There was little Davis could do in response. Her 5'2" frame does not allow her to cover the court extremely well against a player with immense power, and Zheng simply kept hitting the open areas.
Davis's serve, which is impressive for someone of her stature, was no match for Zheng, either. Zheng kept anticipating where the ball was going, hitting it just after it bounced, and the quick pace was far too much for Davis.
Qinwen Zheng easily dispatches Lauren Davis at the 2025 Miami Open
Zheng does have an inconsistent serve, though a great one when it is working. She likely knew going into the match that she did not need to have perfect placement, just elite pace. This would be enough to get by Davis. While the 2024 Olympic gold medalist did have one double fault in set one, she also has six aces. She never faced a break point, but she broke Davis twice.
The winners and unforced errors were also lopsided. Zheng had 12 against one, while Davis had just one winner but eight unforced errors. The match needed to run its course, but there was certainly not going to be any drama to it.
The second set began very much the same. Zheng got an early break with her backhand seemingly more potent than Davis's forehand. Still, Davis did not give up and held serve to make the set 2-1. All Zheng needed to do was hold serve the rest of the match, Surprisingly, she couldn't. Serving at 3-2, Davis got a fairly easy break from Zheng, especially as Zheng ended the game with a double fault.
Perhaps Zheng got complacent. She was so easily in front that she did need to adjust for the first set and a half. Then Davis changed her positioning on the baseline, and this allowed her to have more court coverage, and Zheng struggled to adjust to the move. She still had the power to get balls past the American, but Davis was also gaining confidence.
Serving at 5-all, though, Davis had issues landing her first serve and Zheng was able to take advantage and get the break. Zheng held to take the second set 7-5. She will next play the winner of Taylor Townsend and Yulia Putintseva.