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.
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