No. 5 Zheng stunned by 97th-ranked Siegemund; Osaka rallies to advance

Zheng lost the 2024 decider at Melbourne Park to Aryna Sabalenka and went on to win the Olympic gold medal in Paris

Distracted by a time penalty and unable to counteract No. 97-ranked Laura Siegemund’s aggressive approach, Zheng Qinwen’s loss in the second round Wednesday fell a long way short of last year’s run to the Australian Open final.

Zheng lost the 2024 decider at Melbourne Park to Aryna Sabalenka and went on to win the Olympic gold medal in Paris.

But her first tournament of the year ended in a 7-6 (3), 6-3 loss on John Cain Arena against 36-year-old Siegemund, who attacked from the first point.

Meanwhile, Naomi Osaka, another two-time Australian Open champion, reached the third round of a major for the first time since 2022 when she weathered an early barrage from US Open semi-finalist Karolina Muchova before rallying to win 1-6, 6-1, 6-3.

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