"I don't cry during the match, I cry after" - Zheng Qinwen discloses not paying attention to Mirra Andreeva's tears during tense China Open QF clash

Zheng Qinwen recently revealed that she did not pay attention to Mirra Andreeva's crying during their intense quarterfinal match at the 2024 China Open as she was focused on her game. The World No. 7 made it to the semifinal of the WTA 1000 hard court tournament in Beijing before being defeated by eventual finalist Karolina Muchova.

Qinwen was seeded fifth at the China Open and started her campaign in the second round after receiving a first-round bye. She dominated her opening match against lucky loser Kamilla Rakhimova, winning 6-1, 6-1, and then triumphed over Nadia Podoroska 6-3, 6-2 in the third round.

In the fourth round, the Chinese overcame 34th seed Amanda Anisimova 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 to advance to the last eight. She then defeated 17th seed Mirra Andreeva 5-7, 6-0, 6-4 in the quarterfinal but her campaign came to an end at the hands of Karolina Muchova in the semifinal with a score of 6-3, 6-4.

During the quarterfinal match against Andreeva, the Russian player was visibly emotional and was seen crying. Fans deemed the post-match handshake between the two players to be cold.

At the post-match press conference, Qinwen was asked about Andreeva crying during their match. In response, she stated that she was focused on her performance and did not notice her opponent's emotional state. She admitted that she, too, is prone to tears when matches do not go her way.

"I don't know. I haven't pay attention to my opponent 'cause I just like mostly focus on myself because I feel today I play so bad tennis. I just feel I play like 20% to 30% of my level. I feel if I could play better, match will finish faster than that. Actually, I cry thousand times every time when I had a chance, like in 5-4 I didn't take my game. Starting third set slow, yeah," Qinwen said, via Asap Sports.

Zheng Qinwen suggested that Andreeva's tears could have been due to physical discomfort or fatigue, drawing from her experience of crying due to exhaustion during the 2024 French Open. She also revealed that she cries after her matches and not during them.

"But I think I could see a bit maybe she got some pain in her body. I'm not sure. Or maybe she's just tired. I remember the moment when I'm tired in French Open, I cry also, yeah. But usually I don't cry during the match, I cry after the match," she added.

Zheng Qinwen will next compete at Wuhan Open 2024

Zheng Qinwen at the 2024 China Open [Source: Getty]

Zheng Qinwen will next compete at the 2024 Wuhan Open and she has been seeded fifth in the tournament. She will kick off her campaign in the second round after being granted a first-round bye and her opening match will be against either the wild card Jaqueline Cristian, a qualifier, or a lucky loser.

The Wuhan Open, last held in 2019, is scheduled to take place from 7 to 13 October. This WTA 1000 hard-court tournament will be played at the Optics Valley International Tennis Center in Wuhan, China. Other players who will feature in this event are Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula, Emma Navarro, Paula Badosa, and Coco Gauff, among others.

Aryna Sabalenka is the double defending champion. She won in 2018 by defeating Anett Kontaveit in the final and successfully defended her title in 2019 by defeating Alison Riske Amritraj in the final. Sabalenka, like Zheng Qinwen, will also start her journey in the second round after receiving a first-round bye. Her first opponent will be either Katerina Siniakova or the wild card Alexandra Eala.