China's top tennis girl Peng Shuai, 33rd in the WTA's entry ranking, faltered in the final of the women's singles at the 10th National Games, losing to 42nd-ranked Zheng Jie 6-4 and 7-6 (0) in Nanjing , East China on Friday.
After a 2-2 tie in the first four games, Zheng broke Peng for the first time in the fifth game and narrowly saved her sixth by saving triple breaking points.
Zheng broke again in the 9th game after Peng hit the ball out of the boundary and then saved out the set at 6-4.
Peng looked blue at the beginning of the second set. She stared at the wall for a while after she lost one point with an error. When she turned back, her eyes were wet with tears. However, she saved the first serve.
The final was moved indoors because of rain.
The lead changed hands thereafter. After Peng led at 6-5, Zheng forced the set into the tiebreaker by winning four straight points in the 12th game, where Peng failed to score a single point with many unforced errors.
At the awarding ceremony, Peng, who cried after the match, took off the silver medal to put into the pocket immediately after the medal was put on her neck.
Peng refused to give any comment or attend the press conference. Her Czech coach Karel Fromel explained that Peng failed in handling emotion and pressure.
The 19-year-old has dreamed of winning the gold medal for Tianjin at the quadrennial games. She retired from the last National Games due to serious foot injury.
Winner Zheng admitted she was also under great pressure.
"We feel greater pressure at the National Games than we do at international competitions because this is a quadrennial event and we all want to earn fame for our respective province," Zheng said.
"My emotion is calmer today," she said.