BEIJING: China's top player Zhang Shuai was on the brink of retirement 12 months ago, considering swapping tennis balls for coffee beans and opening a cafe.
On Thursday she booked her spot in the China Open quarter-finals -- the first time she has made it past the third round of her home tournament in seven attempts.
She claimed the scalp of fifth-ranked Simona Halep en route -- for the second time this year.
After a poor season in 2015 Zhang had slipped down the rankings to 186th -- her lowest position in seven years and had fallen in the first round of the China Open, again.
"Last year in (the) China Open I (was) feeling really, really tired. I almost retired," she told reporters Thursday.
"I'm so lucky (I) continued to play. (I tried) one more tournament, Australia Open, and everything changed."
She beat Halep in the first round at Melbourne Park in January – her first ever win in a Grand Slam main draw, which left her sobbing on the court.
She cruised as far as the quarter finals where her fairy tale run was halted by Briton Johanna Konta.
The year that nearly didn't happen turned into the best of Zhang's career.
She reached the second round of the French Open, qualified for the Olympics and battled to the third round at Flushing Meadows.
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