ZHENG QINWEN/E. Mertens
7-5, 6-2
THE MODERATOR: Qinwen, great performance today. Into your very first China Open final. How would you describe your emotions after getting the win today?
ZHENG QINWEN: Every match for me here wasn't easy. I just felt like it's kind of incredible week for me. I have been beat lot of great opponent.
I think today, Mertens, she play some great tennis. I'm really happy to be in the final.
THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.
Q. You're the first player from China to be in the final of the China Open. Could be the first player from your country to win the tournament. What significance does that have to you? Did you know that throughout the tournament?
ZHENG QINWEN: Well, I haven't think that far in the beginning of the tournament 'cause for me the important is just to play match by match. I'm glad that I can be the first one.
But still I know the battle is not end. Tomorrow I will face tough opponent. There is one more match to go. I would say I would stay humble and let's see for tomorrow.
Q. You had to fight a lot in your first opening matches. Now these last two matches it seems like something has clicked in terms of how offensive you have been, how big the forehand is, serving well. What point in the tournament do you feel like things started to click and you could just play and not feel like you sometimes had to fight yourself?
ZHENG QINWEN: Yeah, I would say more matches I play, more free, better tennis I achieve because I'm kind of the player, like my limits are really high, so I need to find out my rhythm from the beginning of the tournament.
I'm luckily that I've been play some really aggressive tennis 'cause that's the goal that I had for myself, to be aggressive, in the same time also being consistent.
Luckily I could finish the match today in two sets. I had some tough third set matches in the beginning of the three matches.
Q. You have Andreeva next. What do you think about that matchup? What do you think has changed about her game since you beat her two years ago here?
ZHENG QINWEN: Well, I think for sure in these two years both of us, we become more mature. She just won Roland Garros this year. Was a really great achievement for her. Congratulations.
I think she's always tough opponent because she's always there fighting, very consistent player. I would say it is not easy match, but also I'm a tough player. Tomorrow is going to be a hard battle. We just show our tennis and let's see what's going to happen.
Q. How are you feeling about playing in front of a home crowd tomorrow and how special would it be for you to win the title here?
ZHENG QINWEN: Well, I'm always proud to play in front of my home crowd. I always wants to show my best level in front of them 'cause I know how much they support me. So I felt like I don't want to let them down. Also I don't want to let myself down.
In a way it's a pressure, but in the same time it gives me motivation. I just need to use them in the right way.
THE MODERATOR: Questions in Chinese.
Q. Your first final in the China Open. You said the best version of yourself is not in the past but in the future. You also mentioned you wouldn't want to compare yourself against a previous version. Could you describe an ideal version of you.
ZHENG QINWEN: An ideal version would be winning a lot, winning a lot of matches, like the big three at their peak. When you are standing there, you have this aura, this mysterious power. It's victory when you stand there. Very consistent wins. Many high-level championships.
That's my ideal version. I don't want to be just good in one tournament, I want to be consistently high level in many tournaments.
Q. Zhang Shuai will be in the finals of the doubles. We see generations of Chinese women doing well. She is very happy for you. Can you talk about this heritage of Chinese women's tennis?
ZHENG QINWEN: When we see our compatriots doing well in international tournaments, it encourages a lot of people, be it China men's team, women's team, or juniors. This is really positive.
When I was a junior, I was encouraged by those predecessors. I'm on court. Whatever I am doing is a way to bring power to those children. I would love to be a role model for the children.
I would like to raise my level. I don't know where my limit is. In my limited career, I would like to build a best version of myself.
Q. On your birthday, how did you celebrate? How was it special to celebrate the birthday here? In the past few days what kind of gifts did the fans share with you?
ZHENG QINWEN: On the birthday was very special. Very interesting. On the morning, I talked to my agent. I want to wear this dress to celebrate my 24th birthday. I wore something I never wore. It's a blue-ish purple kind of like wedding gown dress. I was really happy that day. I took some pictures. But due to different reasons, I have not published those pictures.
I felt that eventually I did something different from what I normally would do on court. I had a big meal with my team. Two years ago when I was celebrating my birthday, I was constantly on tour. I did not have the time to celebrate my birthday. I'm really grateful this year I had the day to celebrate it.
I received many good gifts, some scarves, cards, Labubus, pandas.
Q. We can see that your level has come back. Before the US Open you went to IMG Florida for a training block. During that period, what aspects did you focus on in terms of physicality and mentality?
ZHENG QINWEN: I felt in that training, it was harsh. Not only physically, but also mentally. At the time I had to accept I had to go through the prequalification rounds of the US Open. My ranking was low. No matter what my coach said to me, I had to listen to him. I had no grounds to reject him. When I was top 10, I had all the reasons to say no to him. But now I had to accept it.
He said I was ranked outside the top 100. If your ranking could not be as high as my ranking back then, you would not be able to not listen to my suggestions.
I was pretty humble during that training block. That's a key factor to my achievement today.
I was for a while proud because of my achievement. Then in the training block I reflected on those attitudes. It was a very sweet memory, a very good memory.
Thank you very much.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports