New York-born Emma Navarro played her way into Thursday’s U.S. Open semifinals — which could set up a rematch with China’s Qinwen Zheng, whom she lambasted at the Paris Olympics.
Zheng still has to get past second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka in Tuesday’s quarterfinal.
But if she does, it would set up a juicy showdown.
Back in July, Zheng beat Navarro 6-7 (7), 7-6 (4), 6-1 in the third round of the singles tournament in Paris.
After the match, Navarro — rather than the usual handshake — grabbed Zheng’s hand, stared her in the face and had a heated exchange.
She told her Chinese foe she “didn’t respect her” as a competitor.
Now, with the 23-year-old Navarro into her first Slam semifinal — in the city of her birth, no less — she said it wasn’t so much an emotional outburst but a feeling pent up over years of what she felt was disrespect.
“I don’t want to go super into the weeds with it, but I think during that match and on the practice court and the last few times I’ve played her — because we’ve been playing each other since we were juniors — I felt just a little bit disrespected by her,” Navarro said. “I don’t want to, like I said, go too into detail with it; but yeah, I think she didn’t necessarily treat me or the sport with respect. That’s why I said what I said after the match. That’s it.”
The two haven’t talked since, although there’s a chance for them to face off again Thursday in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“I haven’t spoken to her since. And, no, I didn’t surprise myself. I felt that way the whole match. Even if I’d won, I probably would’ve said the same thing,” Navarro said. “It wasn’t a sort of, in-the-moment emotional thing. It was just kind of how I felt. I think it got a lot more attention than I thought it was going to. Maybe it’s just one person’s opinion. It wasn’t an emotional outburst. It was just kind of matter-of-factly how I felt.”
The 13th-seeded Navarro was actually full of praise for Zheng’s play, if not her personality.
“Yeah, she’s a great player,” Navarro said. “I think she has a really good serve. I think she has really big groundstrokes. I think she’s super powerful, and covers the court well, puts a lot of pressure on you as a returner and on the serve as well. I think yeah, it will be a great challenge.”
