It’s Day 7 of the Australian Open and this Chinese blockbuster has not disappointed. Whilst insights of key matches delivered this opening week of the Australian Open have been shared primarily in the initial few games of the opening set to avoid a results-based bias, exceptions have been made in the later parts of these analyses to highlight why a player may or may not have walked away with the win. Irrespective of this format, if you’ve been following these snapshots it’s time for a little sidestep. And this match between Zheng and Wang presents the perfect opportunity as we’re now early in the 3rd set as these two players are on the hunt for a maiden Round of 16 result.
Right now it is 2-2 and it is time to get a little more technical as to why one player who is on the cusp of becoming a barrier breaker — Zheng, is being pushed all the way by the other who resides just inside the Top 100 — Wang. Despite this significant ranking difference, it is not necessarily an anomaly this Australian Open as we have seen these results throughout the course of the entire opening week with a number of seeded players dropping at the hands of those who are simply playing too good whilst these ‘seeds’ have fallen simply due to not living up to key expectations. And by key expectations, that is reference to the significant analyses — not simply so far this opening week, but in conjunction with the extensive body of work that uncovered these historical findings.
By this point, I am hopeful you have heard of, and become familiar with, the latest release of this significant scope of work and its enormous data — a first of its kind on players and coaches on the WTA and ATP tours that unveiled (and continues to pave the way in) not simply what it takes to Win a Grand Slam — ping the Australian Open, but what it really takes to maintain a Top 10 tennis ranking towards achieving replicated success – multiple Grand Slam titles.
When pinpointing these players on a more technical basis, both showcase significant potential of the 7 Keys progressively integrated in their game. It is no surprise, however, that Zheng is slightly more consistent in her rate of application, but it is more surprising that Wang is exhibiting some explicit key metrics that coincide with a Top 50 ranking with the capacity to progressively ascend closer towards a Top 20 ranking.
When considering these metrics, it highlights the relative difference in respect to rate of progress to patterns of play and that these are not as drastic as their respective rankings suggest. And this is where our predictive analytics — revealed in “The 7 Keys to Optimise Your Life”, become so incredibly powerful, especially when a player has the core objective of developing a Top 10 tennis ranking.
In contrast, oftentimes you will see a more drastic difference between the rate of application and evidence of the 7 Keys or the progressive uptake of these keys towards exhibiting all keys throughout their game. Whilst Wang does not have the consistent application of these keys, she does exhibit a rather increasing and impressive presence of a number of the 8 Keys that flag her to progress closer towards the Top 20 if she is able to maintain this level of play throughout the season and tighten her hold on these key metrics. Even more excitingly, Wang has the capacity to progress inside the Top 20 if she is able to use this 3rd Round result as a catalyst for the next two seasons to come. Of course, these results may come sooner if the rate of application is fast-tracked and the 7 Keys become more firmly solidified in her game.
That said, by now you have become familiar with the 8th Key and how it is incredibly instrumental in not simply allowing a player to progress towards the Top 10 tennis rankings, but underscores the capacity of a player to achieve Grand Slam success.
On the other hand, Zheng is on the cusp of becoming a barrier breaker which will mark her as the first Chinese player to do so since Li Na’s success on the world stage. This marks an incredibly exciting time for Chinese tennis due to the gap in heightened success between one barrier breaker to the next. Whilst some other nations have a more frequent rate of success to others, the rate of play to level of competition of this current generation has set a new standard in contrast to a decade prior and this is explained more widely in “How to Develop a Top 10 Tennis Ranking” that is now available worldwide. What is even more impressive is The Pathway that Zheng has followed to be within reach of the Top 10 tennis rankings as all signs point towards Zheng quite possibly having become privy to all 8 Keys that will afford her the opportunity of joining the 8%.
What is perhaps most interesting between these two players is how close the metrics have been over the course of this 3rd Round encounter. Of course, when considering their metrics and the aforementioned explanation this isn’t surprising. But what is more important to highlight here is that this match marks a promising stepping stone for Wang and what’s to come. Remember, Li Na did not reach and/or achieve the height of her success until her early 30s and this is often forgotten with a number of younger players having earlier breakthroughs reminiscent of two generations prior. That is, just one generation ago we witnessed a number of players achieving success throughout their twenties to thirties with a smaller number of players in their teenage years having significant breakthroughs. Fast forward that 5 to 10 year period and whilst Gauff was considered incredibly young at her initial Wimbledon arrival, there have been players since then in their teenage years who have gone on to win Grand Slam Championships including Swiatek to Alcaraz most notably with multiple to their name, with Andreescu and Raducanu having breakout results as teenagers in claiming a Grand Slam title before Gauff claimed her maiden Grand Slam more recently.
And that’s fundamental to remember. Too soon and a player risks regressing. There’s the right mix to avoid burnout which is shared in our body of work to ensure injuries don’t derail a players full potential.
Whilst Zheng is no longer a teenager but still only 21 years of age, Wang has been on tour a little longer at 29 years of age. This shows us that Zheng is very early on in her second decade of play, whilst Wang is in the later end of her second decade of play with a level of maintenance that has been instilled into her game to draw upon and further optimise should she become familiar with the 7 Keys and ultimately the 8th Key to edge her closer towards a Top 20 ranking — coinciding with the level of play Wang has exhibited throughout this match. Equally, Zheng has delivered a performance in alignment with her ranking range but with an opponent of Wang’s calibre, whereby her current ranking is to all but be ignored, reflects the scoreline with a tiebreaker needed to decide who moves on to the Round of 16 and ultimately really ONE point deciding the match. This one was definitely edging towards Wang despite that brutal finish.
Why? From The Long Game to our Secrets Previewed, these are pivotal moments on how the next generation of Top 10 players are made and you can now learn how by gaining the edge with “How to Develop a Top 10 Tennis Ranking” and push those markers further to ascend towards the Top 500, Top 100 before the Top 50 and ultimately Top 10.
To learn more about our data, predictive analytics and how to optimise your own performance, head on over to AM8 International. To learn more about AM8 International check out our selection of Books and/or options to join Dr B’s Pack to gain exclusive access to the best in the world. Not quite ready? Head on over to Beyond Top 10 Tennis for free access to 100+ episodes directly from Dr Berge of what it really takes to win multiple Grand Slams to securing that Top 10 tennis ranking with new episodes each week. More? Catch up on our Tips over on TikTok, Twitter, Threads or Instagram for quick snippets to apply in your game, today.
