0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail Xinhua, January 10, 2025
China's Zheng Qinwen joined Novak Djokovic for a charity exhibition match at Melbourne Park on Thursday night ahead of the Australian Open.
Zheng and Djokovic beat Andy Murray, Djokovic's new coach, and Victoria Azarenka 4-3 in a single set Fast4 format match featuring four Olympic gold medalists at Rod Laver Arena.
The match was part of "A Night With Novak" -- a charity event organized by the 10-time Australian Open champion.
In its third year, the event raises funds for children's charities through the Australian Tennis Foundation.
The format, in which the players wore microphones and chatted during rallies and between points, proved popular among the sold-out crowd of about 15,000 people.
"It's all about you right now, you're doing everything," Djokovic told Zheng after she hit a forehand volley winner past Murray in the fifth game of the match.
Between games, Djokovic and Zheng reminisced about their mixed doubles match against each other at the United Cup in December 2023, which was won by Djokovic and Olga Danilovic for Serbia.
"I was really sad, I cried after that mixed doubles," Zheng said of the 2023 match on Thursday night.
In the following game, Zheng showcased her volleying skills in a long rally before the point was lost when Djokovic failed to chase down a lobbed shot.
"Come on, you were running like the Flash in the singles match," the Chinese world number five quipped to Djokovic.
Murray and Azarenka had a match point in the tiebreak but were denied by a wide serve from Zheng that Azarenka could not return.
Zheng won the match on the following deciding point with a forehand winner.
Earlier, Djokovic had beaten Alexander Zverev in a singles match.
Djokovic said that the match against Zverev was an opportunity for both players to fine-tune their game ahead of the first Grand Slam tournament of 2025.
"This is the court where all the magic happens," he said.
Zverev, the second seed in the men's singles draw at the Australian Open, said it was the first time he has experienced a full crowd on center court in the days leading up to any Grand Slam, adding that he thought the match was played to a very high level.
The Australian Open will start at Melbourne Park on Sunday.
