BEIJING: China’s media hailed a “magnificent” Zheng Jie on Friday after her historic charge at Wimbledon came to an end with a straight sets defeat to Serena Williams in the semifinals.

Wild card Zheng lost 2-6, 6-7 (5-7) in a match watched by millions of people on late night television in China on Thursday, but she still created history by becoming the first Chinese player to reach a Grand Slam semi. “In this match, Zheng Jie gave a magnificent performance,” the Titan Sports Weekly said. “She has led fans to believe that this was not a one off performance and that her success will not stop here,” it said.

Zheng, ranked 133 in the world, beat three seeded players at Wimbledon, including a stunning straight sets defeat of world number one Ana Ivanovic in the third round. The 24-year-old’s run also showed that she is peaking in time for next month’s Beijing Olympic Games where she and other Chinese tennis stars are hoping to perform well before the home crowd.

“Although she lost, a brave Zheng Jie still won glory on the world stage,” Sina.com sports, one of China’s leading Internet portals, said in its headline. “Zheng Jie has won the respect of the world and showed China’s strength against top players,” it said.

It is not the first time Zheng has tasted success at Wimbledon, but her doubles title triumph with Yan Zi in 2006 received less attention than it deserved back home because China was gripped by the 2006 World Cup. Chinese media also noted that the star player from southwest China’s Sichuan province had vowed to hand over her Wimbledon prize money to victims of the May 12 devastating earthquake that shattered parts of her home region.

She earned 375,000 dollars for reaching the semifinals, but not all of the money will go to quake victims as she has to hand over a portion of her winnings to China’s tennis authorities.