The Egyptian striker, who sets Wigan pulses racing with his every touch, failed to add to his six goals already this season in the home defeat against Middlesbrough but produced a performance to suggest he will prove more than a fly-by-night success.
Carrying a calf injury, which restricted him to just one day's training beforehand, Zaki provided the principle threat in a match short of attacking quality.
It says everything about his performance that Boro centre backs Chris Riggott and David Wheater earned the praise of Steve Bruce for the way they handled Wigan's strike force of Zaki and Emile Heskey.
It was an early taste for Zaki of what he can expect in the coming months now that his burgeoning reputation has assured he can no longer bank on being a surprise package for the opposition.
Even so, he still produced a muscular display and no shortage of invention as Wigan dominated proceedings against Boro without managing to find a breakthrough.
If it was an example of what the forward can do when only half fit, it bodes well for Wigan's prospects this season.
Marathon
"I've got no doubt about him," said Bruce. "He's done extremely well but I've always said it's just the start because were in a marathon.
"There's a long hard season ahead but I am convinced he will come through it.
"Zaki has set unbelievably high standards. But he didn't train all week because he took a kick on the calf last week and when you are built like he is, the one thing you have to do is train. That took the edge off him a bit.
"When you set unbelievable standards you've got the whole nation talking about you.
"He still looked a threat and he was unlucky on a couple of occasions but if you are a couple of percent below in this league it affects you."
If Zaki was unfortunate, so were Wigan with Bruce claiming his side were mugged by Jeremie Aliadiere's last minute strike.
The Frenchman had put in a hitherto listless display that typified a Boro side short on invention and happy to resort to direct football in a bid to open up the home side who were virtually untroubled throughout.
It was Wigan who put together the more attractive football with Lee Cattermole dictating proceedings while Antonio Valencia put in a tireless shift on the right.
But on the occasions that they found a way through the excellent Riggott and Wheater, they found Ross Turnbull in inspired form.
He denied Heskey from point blank range in the second-half and then substitute Henri Camara when through one on one.
Wigan paid for it when Stuart Downing slid in Aliadiere, who beat Chris Kirkland in the final minute.
Majority
"I was worried after the first 30 minutes when it seemed to be one-way traffic and we didn't score," said. Bruce.
"When you are in the ascendency in the Premier League that's when you've got to score.
"But it wasn't one of those days. We didn't deserve to lose, that's for sure."
Bruce has now lost the majority of his squad to international duty - something he accepts as a consequence of their own success.
"When you lose you want to get in on the Monday to work on things, but we can't.
"We've got to wait until they get back a week on Thursday or Friday and hope they get back okay.
"There's something like 13 or 14 players away. I've got six this week and one of them is injured, so what am I going to do?"
WIGAN: Kirkland 6, Melchiot 7, Bramble 8, Scharner 7, Figueroa 6,Valencia 8, Cattermole 9, Palacios 7 (De Ridder, 85), Kapo 6 (Koumas, 67 6), Zaki 7 (Camara, 81), Heskey 7. Subs not used: Pollitt, Taylor, Kilbane, Brown.
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