Saudi Arabia - November 08, 2024 Storyline: China's Paris Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen advanced to the WTA Finals after defeating the Czech Republic's Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 7-5 in the semifinal in Riyadh of Saudi Arabia on Friday. Speaking with Chinese state broadcaster China Media Group (CMG) after her win, the Chinese tennis sensation said she was happy to reach World No. 5 in live rankings. During the interview, the 22-year-old also reflected on fighting back when trailing 3-4 in the second set. The Chinese tennis player will face World No.3 Coco Gauff in the final on Saturday. Zheng reached the final on her WTA Finals debut, matching another Chinese player, former French Open champion Li Na's best result in 2013. Shotlist: FILE: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Dec 2022: 1. National flag of Saudi Arabia; 2. Various of city view; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Nov 8, 2024: 3. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Zheng Qinwen, Chinese tennis player: "I'm happy that I moved up to the 5th in the year-end world rankings. I've been ranking the 7th since the start of the year, and played so hard tournament-to-tournament, finally jumped to the 5th." FILE: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - December 2022: 4. Various of city view, traffic; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Nov 8, 2024: 5. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Zheng Qinwen, Chinese tennis player: "I was not focused enough at that time and my performance was a little bit weak. My opponent on the contrary played more relaxed, I wasted too much time waiting for my opponent's mistakes instead of playing more aggressively. But I think this is part of tennis, the situation can reverse real quickly if you miss a few chances. So this is sort of a lesson for me. But I think what I've done well is that I managed to play calmly even when I was trailing by 3-4. I failed to do that in the previous games, but I did it today." FILE: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Dec 2022: 6. Aerial shots of cityscape; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Nov 8, 2024: 7. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Zheng Qinwen, Chinese tennis player: "I was leading by 3-0, but lost two serves. This was a mistake that should not have happened on an indoor hard court. So I stayed very focused on my next serve when I was on the court. And I knew that I always had a chance in her serve, because I could basically receive every serve. And I found that she played better and better as the game went on. And I also delivered exciting moments. I think in the end it was a competition of aura and psychological resilience." FILE: Saudi Arabia - Date Unknown: 8. Aerial shots of cityscape. [Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland]