Lulu Sun has caused an upset on Court Three at Wimbledon by defeating eighth seed and Australian Open finalist Qinwen Zheng in the opening round.
Sun is the first New Zealander to win a singles match at the tennis grand slam since Marina Erakovic in 2016 aftercompleting a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 comeback victory.
The 23-year-old qualifier got the pivotal break in the 10th game in the final set with Zheng losing the match on a double fault, her eighth of the match.
Sun will face Ukraine qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva and world number 153 in the second round.
Today’s win was her first in the main draw at a grand slam after making her debut earlier in the year, playing under the Switzerland flag at the Australian Open, losing in the first round.
“It’s a huge win for me and it’s a huge win for New Zealand as well,” Sun said.
“It goes to show that with hard work you can pull through anything. But it also gives a view to the younger generation that these New Zealanders can push through on the big stages.”
