China’s Zheng Qinwen said severe stomach cramps ruined her hopes of completing a shock French Open win against world No. 1 Iga Swiatek on Monday and left her “wishing I was a man.”
Zheng, just 19 and playing in her first Roland Garros, took the first set off the top seed before slipping to a 6-7 (5/7), 6-0, 6-2 defeat in their last-16 tie.
The world No. 74 had needed a medical timeout to strap her injured right leg early in the second set, but she said that was the least of her concerns.
Photo: AP
“It’s just girl things,” Zheng said, referring to her menstrual pain. “I always have so much pain in the first day. I couldn’t go against my nature. I wish I can be a man so that I don’t have to suffer from this. It’s tough.”
In an 82-minute opening set, Zheng saved five set points, had two of her own and then clawed her way back from 2/5 down in the tiebreak to stun the top seed.
It was the first set lost by Swiatek since April 23, when she was stretched by Liudmila Samsonova in the semi-finals in Stuttgart.
As the 2020 Roland Garros champion’s streak looked in peril, Zheng required a medical timeout at 0-3 in the second set for a leg injury.
Zheng, who had defeated 2018 champion Simona Halep on her way to the fourth round, returned with her right thigh heavily strapped and quickly dropped the second set.
Swiatek carved out a double break in the decider against her tiring opponent, whose problems contributed to her 46 unforced errors.
“The leg made it tough, but that compared to the stomach was easy,” Zheng said.
Swiatek extended her winning streak to 32 matches to equal the third best winning streak this century set by Justine Henin 14 years ago.
“Zheng played amazing tennis,” said Swiatek after reaching the quarter-finals for a third successive year. “I was surprised with some of her shots, her top spin was amazing. Huge congrats to her. I am happy to come back after a frustrating first set when I had the lead.
Swiatek next faces US 11th seed Jessica Pegula who downed Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
The Greek basketball league finals between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos were suspended by the government on Monday following on-court scuffles involving rival security teams. The best-of-five series is at 1-1. The third game, scheduled for today, has been postponed. The owners of both clubs were summoned to meet with the country’s sports minister. They “will be asked to provide explicit guarantees that this situation will be brought to an end. If not, this year’s championship will be definitively canceled,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. “There can be no tolerance for such pathological phenomena of violence and delinquency.” In online posts, the owners of Panathinaikos and
Defender Steph Catley says her UEFA Women’s Champions League title win with Arsenal last week will act as motivation to secure continental glory with Australia when the country hosts the Women’s Asian Cup next year. Catley and compatriots Caitlin Foord and Kyra Cooney-Cross were part of the Arsenal squad that defeated Barcelona in Lisbon on Sunday last week, before flying to Melbourne to feature in the Matildas’ 2-0 win over Argentina on Friday. The game was the first in a two-match series against the South Americans as the Australians continue preparations for the continental championship in March next year, when they would
RSS