This year's WTA 1000 tournament in Beijing brought many surprises. The first of them took place before the start of the competition. She withdrew from the competition in the capital of China Iga ¦wiatekwhich is currently undergoing a coach change. Aryna Sabalenka's elimination at the quarterfinal stage was also unexpected. Karolina Muchova turned out to be the defeater of the Belarusian woman. The Czech made it to the title fight, which was ultimately won by Coco Gauff. The young American did not give her opponent much of a chance, winning 6:1, 6:3.
A big storm after Andreeva's match with Zheng. “I didn't pay attention to my opponent”
Although the “thousand” in Beijing ended on Sunday, the media does not stop talking about the events of the quarterfinal duel between Mirra Andreeva and Qinwen Zheng. In the first set, after a fierce fight, the Russian won 7:5. It seemed that the scenario would be similar in the second game, but suddenly the Chinese team won she came in to a completely different level. She defeated her opponent to zero, which meant she approached the third part of the match with a different mental attitude.
Meanwhile, the 17-year-old was completely devastated. She burst into tears in the first game of the third set, remembering the events of the previous game. In the end, the scoreboard showed a draw of 4:4. At the decisive moment of the match, the Chinese woman proved to be better again. Ultimately, she won 5:7, 6:0, 6:4 and advanced to semi-finalwhere she lost to the aforementioned Muchova.
Right after the match ended, Qinwen Zheng and Mirra Andreeva they came to the net to thank each other for the fight. The Chinese woman shook the Russian woman's hand very dryly and even somewhat dominantly, emphasizing her triumph. Some fans and experts on social media did not like her behavior. What did Zheng have to say about her opponent crying during the match? – I don't know. I didn't pay attention to my opponent because I focused mainly on myself. I feel like I played very bad today. It was 20-30 percent. my level. I think if I played better, game it would have ended faster – she said at a press conference, ignoring the problems of her younger rival.
It has long been known that the gold medalist of the Olympic Games in Paris does not have many friends on tour. Other competitors often emphasized her unsportsmanlike and unhealthy approach to competition. – I told her I didn't respect her as a player. I think he approaches matches quite fiercely. This means that she doesn't have many female friends. It's difficult to face an opponent I really don't respect, Emma Navaro once said. Donna Vekić has a similar opinion about Chinka. – There are many controversial stories about her, but I won't talk about it – she added.