By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday July 30, 2024
When you fail to convert a match point and end up losing at the Olympics, there’s bound to be frustration. American Emma Navarro let her anger be felt after falling to China’s Zheng Qinwen on Tuesday in Paris, 6-7(7), 7-6(4), 6-1.
The Paris weather wasn’t the only thing that was boiling over on Tuesday…
“I just told her I didn’t respect her as a competitor,” Navarro said when asked what she said during the pair’s heated exchange at the net after the match, according to the AFP. “I think she goes about things in a pretty cut-throat way. It makes for a locker room that doesn’t have a lot of camaraderie, so it’s tough to face an opponent like that, who I really don’t respect.
The most unexpected drama of the day came after the incredible Zheng-Navarro battle.
Qinwen won after saving match point. The handshake was tense and explained by both players afterwords.
Navarro. “I just told her I didn’t respect her as a competitor. I think she goes about… pic.twitter.com/T6jYQFRaYp
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) July 30, 2024
Navarro also led 5-3 in the second set of a wild encounter that lasted three hours and 12 minutes. The American had her match point with Zheng serving at 3-5, ad-out.
Zheng won 11 of the final 13 points of the set and then raced through the decider to book a quarterfinal clash with Angelique Kerber.
“Kudos to her, she played some good tennis there at the end. She played better than me, so congrats to her,” Navarro added.
Zheng said she was open to criticism.
“She told me she doesn’t know how I have a lot of fans,” the sixth-seeded Chinese said.
“It looks like she’s not happy with my behaviour towards her. If she’s not happy about my behaviour, she can come and tell me. I would like to correct it to become a better player and a better person.
“I’m glad that she told me that. I will not consider it an attack because she lost the match.”
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