Zheng Qinwen gives China an Australian Open finalist a decade after Li Na, as Aryna Sabalenka awaits

Zheng Qinwen earned a spot in her first championship match at any Grand Slam tournament—she'll face Aryna Sabalenka for the Australian Open title on Saturday—by winning a semifinal at Melbourne Park that came 10 years to the day after another Chinese woman, Li Na, claimed the trophy there.

Li, who also won the French Open, is a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame and remains the only player from her country to earn a major singles title. She was a trailblazer, serving as inspiration for Zheng when she was a kid learning the sport in China. The two spoke in person for the first time during this Australian Open, and Zheng credits Li with offering some key advice.

"She (told) me: ‘Don't think too much. Just go for it,'" the 12th-seeded Zheng said after eliminating qualifier Dayana Yastresmka 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday. "That's enough, I think."

That approach has carried Zheng this far, but it's likely some exceptional play will be required to derail defending champion and second-seeded Sabalenka in the final, which is scheduled to begin Saturday at 7:30 p.m. local time in Melbourne (3:30 a.m. ET).

Sabalenka, a 25-year-old from Belarus, hasn't dropped a set during the past two weeks. Her 7-6 (2), 6-4 victory over Coco Gauff in the semifinals—a rematch of the US Open final won by the American teen in September—made Sabalenka the first woman to reach consecutive title matches at the Australian Open since Serena Williams made three in a row from 2015-17, winning two of them.