In the early morning of the 13th, Beijing time, on the last match day of the 2021 US Open, Chinese player Zhang Shuai and Australian player Stosur teamed up to beat the American native combination and the 11th seed in the tournament 6:3/3:6/6:3 Gove/McNally, successfully won the women's doubles championship.

　　After a fierce battle of 1 hour and 54 minutes, the two won their second Grand Slam championship since their cooperation, and they also won the fourth championship after their partnership.

Zhang Shuai is 32 years old and Stosur is 37 years old. This is a story about a veteran who sticks to it.

Image source: US Open's official Weibo.

　　"On one side is the strength of the Grand Slam combination Zhang Shuai/Stosur, the sword is the combination of the second doubles Grand Slam", "the other side is the youth combination of Goff/McNally, the goal is the first Grand Slam doubles champion."

This is a pre-match prediction released by the US Open on social media.

Indeed, in the competitive sports arena, Zhang Shuai and Stosur are no longer young.

　　The pair of Americans on the opposite side of the net created a "youth storm" in this game.

The combined age of the two is only 36 years old.

With their excellent serve and fierce play, the two passed all the way to the final.

　　In the first game, the two sides completed the first 7 rounds of their respective guarantees.

In the entanglement, Zhang Shuai and Stosur were obviously the more experienced one.

They suddenly launched an attack on McNally’s serve and achieved a critical break, and even broke to keep the next set 6:3.

　　And when the American group equalized the total score in the second set, the atmosphere was ignited, and the audience was eager to witness the young teenager winning the championship at home.

And this is also the first game that Zhang Shuai and Stosur have lost in this US Open Women's Doubles.

Image source: US Open's official Weibo.

　　In the third set of the decisive victory, it was also in McNally's serve. Taking advantage of the opportunity of the opponent's serving quality to decline, Zhang Shuai decisively improved the speed and quality of the return ball and helped the combination successfully complete the break.

This also became the turning point of the game. Zhang Shuai and Stosur all worked together to make another set 6:3 and successfully won the crown.

　　After winning the last point of the game, Zhang Shuai knelt and sat on the court with a smile on his face, but tears in his eyes.

After shaking hands with her opponent, she and Stosur hugged tightly.

For Zhang Shuai, this champion was not easy to come by.

Image source: Screenshot of Zhang Shuai's social media.

　　"I'm dying to insist, and I'm almost paranoid. I live under flying clouds. I'm like an angel." These are a few sentences from a paragraph written by Zhang Shuai on social media after winning the championship.

It is this kind of persistence that surpasses ordinary people that has made Zhang Shuai today.

　　Bringing memories back to the 2016 Australian Open Women’s Singles arena, Zhang Shuai challenged the second-seeded Romanian star Halep. Without being favored by the outside world, Zhang Shuai was upset in straight sets with 6:4/6:3 in straight sets. Defeated his opponent and broke into the second round of the Grand Slam women's singles for the first time in his career.

　　In the previous 8 years, the first round of the Grand Slam singles was not won,

and she

lost 14 times in a row, but Zhang Shuai did not choose to give up.

At the age of 27, she finally waited for Liu Anhuaming.

Image source: WTA International Women's Tennis Association official Weibo.

　　In 2008, at the US Open, Zhang Shuai, who was only 19 years old at the time, made his first Grand Slam women's singles match. Facing former US Open women's singles champion Kuznetsova, Zhang Shuai lost 4:6/2:6.

However, this defeat became the beginning of a nightmare for Zhang Shuai's Grand Slam singles match.

　　In the eight years since then, Zhang Shuai, who has repeatedly entered the race, has never been able to break the "first round curse."

Successive defeats are destined to erode the confidence to succeed. Zhang Shuai's results and rankings have also declined significantly over a period of time.

However, she still chose to prove herself on the stadium she loved. She did not bow to the torture of fate. This was the breakthrough of the 2016 Australian Open.

　　In this, Stosur played an important role.

　　In 2013, Zhang Shuai and Stosur reached the final after they cooperated for the first time at the Osaka Open. The two left a deep impression on each other.

When Zhang Shuai was unhappy on the court, it was Stosur's encouragement and support that gave Zhang Shuai the motivation to continue

. The friendship between the two is no longer as simple as a partner.

Data map: The 2019 Australian Open entered the women's doubles final. Zhang Shuai/Stosur 6-3/6-4 defeated the defending champion Barbos/Meladenovic and won the Grand Slam championship together for the first time. .

　　At the 2019 Australian Open, Zhang Shuai and Stosur defeated the defending champion Barbos/Meladenovic 6:3/6:4, winning the Grand Slam together for the first time.

　　In this year's Cincinnati race, Zhang Shuai and Stosur once again joined hands to defeat Dabrovsky/Stefani 7:5/6:3. This is also the third harvest since Zhang Shuai and Stosur have cooperated. Women's doubles champion.

　　This time the U.S. Open won the championship, this honor is very precious to the two players who have passed the year.

It carries not only the victory of competitive sports, but also the friendship and trust between Zhang Shuai and Stosur.

Data map: The 2019 Australian Open entered the women's doubles final. Zhang Shuai/Stosur 6-3/6-4 defeated the defending champion Barbos/Meladenovic and won the Grand Slam championship together for the first time. .

　　This is Zhang Shuai's second career Grand Slam women's doubles championship and the 10th overall doubles championship. She also became the first mainland Chinese player to win the US Open in the adult group.

As she fills up this last piece of the puzzle, the four Grand Slams all have Mainland China Golden Cups.

　　At the award ceremony, the two kissed the trophy together.

After calming down, Zhang Shuai sent a warm speech to his friends who were fighting side by side.

　　"We are good friends and always will be. We fight together on the court, it doesn't matter whether we win or lose. Today we win, and sometimes we lose, but we always play happily. We will participate in more games together. We will not play at every stop, we will try to stay healthy so that we can play longer."

Image source: Screenshot of Weibo comment.

　　The 32-year-old Zhang Shuai still persisted. In the 2021 season, facing the epidemic that has not yet faded, Zhang Shuai competed under tremendous pressure. It is this persistence that led to today's U.S. Open summit.

　　"Speaking of a few weeks ago, I was still hard to find a victory. Sam was always able to encourage me and help me, in my life and career. I am very happy that we won this championship."

At the Australian Open two years ago and the US Open two years later, the story of this veteran's persistence continues.

(Liu Xingchen)