Zheng Qinwen's Miami first-round opponent confirmed! Facing the US Open champion before the match, debut scheduled for early Saturday morning

Ask AI · How did this match become a milestone event for the WTA 1000?

On March 20, the first round of the WTA 1000 Miami tournament continued. In a matchup featuring local wildcards, former US Open champion Sloane Stephens faced off against former Australian Open runner-up Jennifer Brady. Stephens won in straight sets, successfully advancing to face Chinese player Zheng Qinwen.

This match created a new historical moment for the WTA – it was the first time in a WTA 1000 level event that two players ranked outside the top 500 faced each other. Once two prominent figures in women’s tennis, both have returned to the court after experiencing injuries.

In the first set, Stephens broke serve first in the sixth game, taking a 4-2 lead. The two players then engaged in a back-and-forth battle of breaks, with breaks and re-breaks, until Stephens secured the first set with a score of 6-4.

In the second set, both players exchanged breaks in the opening games. In the fourth game, Stephens broke again to take a 3-1 lead. Brady successfully broke back in the fifth game, narrowing the score to 2-3. In the sixth and eighth games, Stephens broke serve twice more, winning the next three games to take the second set 6-2.

Ultimately, in a match that lasted 1 hour and 24 minutes, former tournament champion Sloane Stephens, ranked 717th in the world, defeated Jennifer Brady, ranked 744th, with scores of 6-4, 6-2, achieving her first victory in a main draw at the tour level since Wimbledon 2024.

In the upcoming second round, Stephens will face Chinese tennis star Zheng Qinwen. In terms of head-to-head records, Zheng has won both encounters between the two in 2022. This match is expected to take place around 3:30 AM Beijing time on March 21.