Sharapova made 14 double faults, 62 unforced errors and was broken seven times during the match. Zheng broke Sharapova's serve three times in the first set, then the Russian leveled after the second set which lasted one hour and eight minutes, and finally, Zheng came back from 3-1 down in the decider to win the match.

"She's like a ball machine. She hits a lot of balls back, hits them hard and deep. I should have done a much better job on her serve because that is definitely one of her weaker parts of the game," said the world No.13 Sharapova, who received treatment for her right elbow during the match.

The 26-year-old Chinese, a surprise semifinalist at this year's Australian Open, will next play Australian wildcard Alicia Molik. (source: Reuters, photo: Nick Bollettieri)

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The Chinese two-time Grand Slam semifinalist has always been very cute, but it is refreshing to see her looking glamorous for a magazine photo shoot.

Zheng is currently playing the $220,000 Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur. (source: HCFoo's Tennis Blog)

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Chinese tennis stars Zheng Jie and Li Na have arrived home after their enormous success in Australia and were welcomed by crowds of fans and media.

Zheng and Li made history for China when they reached the 2010 Australian Open semifinals. Actually, never before had two Chinese players been in the second week of a major at the same time. Moreover, Zheng and Li are now both within Top 20 in the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour rankings – Zheng is No.20 and Li has become the first Chinese Top 10 player by reaching No.10.

The national celebration of Zheng’s and Li’s arrival took place in Beijing. They answered questions from fans and media, and donated their equipment to the Chinese Tennis Association's Youth Foundation. Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications China President Roger Eriksson presented Zheng and Li with special gifts for their achievements. (source: Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)

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Former world number one Justine Henin, playing only her second tournament since coming back to the WTA Tour and her first Grand Slam since the 2008 Australian Open, beat 19th seed Nadia Petrova to reach the semifinals at the Melbourne Park. The Belgian’s opponent in the last four will be second-time Grand Slam semifinalist China’s Zheng Jie, one of the most responsible players for putting China on a tennis map.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion Henin, a wildcard in Melbourne, had to dig deep to beat Nadia Petrova 7-6(3) 7-5. Both players struggled to hold serve, but it was Petrova who made 41 unforced error to Henin’s 26. Nevertheless, Petrova’s 2010 Australian Open run will be remembered, as she took out third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova and 15th seed Kim Clijsters out of the tournament.

Unseeded Zheng Jie advanced by stopping Russia’s Maria Kirilenko 6-1 6-3 in the quarterfinals. Kirilenko had an astounding tournament, but in the match against Zheng she was always a step behind, and the fact that her thigh was heavily strapped didn’t help either. We should note that Kirilenko played singles, doubles and mixed doubles during the tournament, and she’s still alive in the doubles competition, partnered with Agnieszka Radwanska.

The remaining semifinalists will be known after the Serena Williams vs. Victoria Azarenka and Venus Williams vs. Li Na matches are finished. (photos via Australian Open)

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World No.35 Zheng Jie was the first player to reach the 2010 Australian Open quarterfinals after a 7-6(5) 6-4 upset of seed No.31 Alona Bondarenko.

Zheng has now become the first Chinese ever to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, while two years ago at Wimbledon she became the first player from her country to reach semifinals of a Grand Slam event.

"I feel tennis is going up very quickly in China," said Zheng who played a large role in raising the popularity of the sport in her country. "We have a good tournament, the China Open, and you can see lots of the newspapers talking about tennis much more now. We have more top players now too."

Zheng will face Russian Maria Kirilenko in the quarterfinals. (photo via Australian Open)

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Elena Dementieva, Maria Kirilenko, Sania Mirza and Zheng Jie took part in an annual exhibition tournament the Glam Slam – Showdown of Champions in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Our friend HCFoo attended the meet-the-fans session held on Friday and followed the rest of the event at home.

Dementieva and Kirilenko defeated Mirza and Zheng 3-0. The Russians won in doubles on Saturday 6-4 5-7 10-8. Then on Sunday, Kirilenko beat Zheng 6-3 4-6 6-4, and Dementieva completed Russian domination by downing Mirza 6-4 7-6 (7-0).

HCFoo's overall impression is that the Glam Slam – Showdown of Champions wasn't actually glamorous and that the organization should have been much better. In addition, the attendance was bad and there was lack of publicity. Still, the matches were worth watching, as the players took them seriously and fought hard.

Elena Dementieva left a lovely impression on HCFoo:

I've never met a player so friendly… she would look deep in your eyes, greet you and give you a big smile! *faint*

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Kuala Lumpur, Malasya, will welcome Russians Elena Dementieva and Maria Kirilenko, Indian Sania Mirza and Chinese Zheng Jie at the Showdown of Champions 2009, an exhibition event set to take place December 18-19.

The exhibition is a nice intro to the Malasya Classic, a new International-level tournament added to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour calendar to be hosted by Kuala Lumpur in February 2010. (source: HCFoo's Tennis Blog, photos: chascow, Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, Ralf Reinecke)

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The 23nd-ranked Zheng had beaten a world No.1 before – Ana Ivanovic in the third round of last year's Wimbledon – but had never beaten Safina.

"She’s a good player and it’s tough to play her," said Safina after the third-round defeat. "In this match I didn’t do the right things. I should have played better. Today, she took her chances and beat me."

Zheng, the 14th seed, will next face Australian 13th seed Samantha Stosur, who dominated current world No.11 Ana Ivanovic 6-3 6-2 in the third round. Stosur has scored her sixth win over a Top 15 opponent this year. Also, she has defeated former top-ranked players in consecutive weeks, having beaten Serena Williams in the Stanford quarterfinals.

World No.61 Maria Sharapova, after upsetting third seed Victoria Azarenka in the previous round, rebounded from a slow first-set start for the second straight day and defeated Alona Bondarenko 4-6 6-0 6-3. In the quarterfinals, Sharapova will face Poland's Urszula Radwanska, who got a walkover from No.12 seed Li Na due to a right knee injury. (photo via Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)

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Tennis stars Zheng Jie and Jelena Jankovic are appearing in this TV commercial for the Chinese brand of ANTA, which they have been promoting this year.

I have to notice, of what use is the slogan "Keep moving" when Jelena Jankovic’s feet are melting and hurting in ANTA shoes, which are badly affecting her performance.

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A while ago I came across this super cute photo of Chinese tennis star Zheng Jie playing when she was a child. Hehe, I absolutely love her face in this picture, and her hair.

Zheng is now 26 years old and has so far won three WTA Tour titles: Estoril and Stockholm in 2006, and Hobart in 2005. Her best showing at a Grand Slam was last year at Wimbledon, when she was a surprise semifinalist.

Unfortunately, Zheng has today fallen from No.16 to No.24 in the rankings, having reached only the second round of Wimbledon 2009.

Things this blogs likes to feature are photos and videos of famous tennis players when they were kids. Many of you already know how rich our collection is, but for those who are new here, I suggest they check out our Kiddie Pics section.

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