Emma Navarro makes shock ‘respect’ claim in unlikely Zheng Qinwen spat
Emma Navarro has revealed she told Zheng Qinwen she “didn’t respect her as a competitor” after a dramatic Olympic Games clash in Paris.
In roasting Parisian heat, sixth seed Qinwen of China battled past America’s Navarro 6-7(9), 7-6(4), 6-1 in a match that lasted over three hours – and had more than its fair share of drama.
After rallying from behind to win the first set, 11th seed Navarro twice served for the match in set two and held match point at one stage, only for the Chinese to roar back and battle into the quarter-final.
At the conclusion of the match, it was obvious that the US star and Qinwen engaged in a brief conversation, though it looked innocuous at the outset.
However, in an extraordinary press conference post-defeat, the 11th seed accused her opponent of being “cut-throat” – and added that she had no “respect” for her rival.
“I just told her I didn’t respect her as a competitor,” she said.
“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.
“But, kudos to her, she played some good tennis there at the end. She played better than me, so congrats to her.”
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Despite the rather chastening nature of Navarro’s comments, the Chinese – who, like the American, is making her Olympic debut – claimed she was “happy” that Navarro spoke to her about her behaviour.
“If she is not happy with my behaviour, she can come and tell me,” said Qinwen.
“I would like to correct it to become a better player and a better person. I am happy that she told me. I will not consider it an attack because she lost the match.
“She told me that she doesn’t know how I have so many fans. It seems that she is not happy with my behaviour towards her.”
The incident is an unlikely one, even more so considering these are two players not normally known for being dragged into such conversations.
Navarro will now head back to North America for the hard-court summer, while Zheng continues her singles campaign in Paris.
