Rising Chinese star Zheng Qinwen was visibly in discomfort on the court versus Iga Swiatek and after the match revealed she was bothered by “a girls thing.” 74th-ranked Zheng was competing extremely well versus first-seeded Swiatek as she managed to win a tight first set versus the Pole.
After losing a tight first set, Swiatek pretty much dominated the rest of the match as she claimed a 6-7 (5) 6-0 6-2 win. Zheng came out on the court with her leg taped but her leg wasn’t giving her as much problems as her stomach.
“The leg problem compared to the stomach was easy. My stomach was giving me the most trouble today and I couldn’t play my tennis because my stomach was too painful. But I really gave my best even though it was tough,” Zheng explained.
Zheng Qinwen hinted that she was troubled by menstrual cramps during the match against Iga Swiatek.
“The first day is always so tough and then, you know, I have to do sport and I always have so much pain in the first day…I wish I can be a man on court.”
pic.twitter.com/CnXEHseyBc — Musab (@Musab_Abid) May 30, 2022
Zheng: It’s just a girls thing
“No, it’s just a girls thing. The first day is always tough. I have to do sport and the first day is always tough.
And I couldn’t go against my nature. I wish I can be a man on court, but I cannot in that moment when I say, I really wish I can be a man so I don’t have to suffer from this. It’s tough,” Zheng added. Even though Zheng lost, she fough bravely against the player that hasn’t been beaten since mid-February.
In the first set, Zheng twice recovered from a break down and saved five set points to force a tie-break. In the tie-break, Zheng was 2-5 down before winning five consecutive points and stealing the first set versus Swiatek.
After blowing five set points in the first set, Swiatek impressively bounced back as she bageled Zheng in the second set to force a decider. Swiatek continued her run at the start of the third set, taking an early 2-0 lead.
Zheng served out the third game to end Swiatek’s run of eight consecutive games but it didn’t change much. In the seventh game, Swiatek earned her second break of the set and in the following game routinely served out to complete a big comeback win.
