The rally had a little bit of everything: an extended baseline exchange, a drop shot, a nice approach and what seemed like a perfectly placed lob. That’s when Zheng Qinwen showed some real magic on the court.

Against No.5 seed Maria Sakkari last month at the 2023 Qatar TotalEnergies, Zheng ended the point with a sweet down-the-line tweener at 2-2 in the second set.

 “No way! Oh my word!”

That was the reaction from commentary. And quite frankly, there’s no better way to summarize the point, one that earned Zheng the February Shot of the Month.  

Sakkari would regroup and knock off Zheng, last year’s WTA Newcomer of the Year, in three sets to advance to the second round.