"My focus is on playing my own game first, and then adjusting my strategy. I hope to perform better this time than in our previous encounters," she said.

"I've learned from past lessons and have worked on staying emotionally balanced. Sabalenka is a formidable opponent, but I'm confident in my own power as well. We'll see how it plays out."

Saturday night's semifinal at the Wuhan Open was historic, as Zheng faced Wang Xinyu in the first-ever all-Chinese semifinal at a WTA 1000 event. Zheng emerged victorious, defeating Wang 6-3, 6-4.