There is no love lost between Emma Navarro and Qinwen Zheng.
The pair are both through to the second round but Zheng did not hold back when asked for a response to those who think she needs to show more respect.
Navarro survived a advance to a meeting with Zheng’s countrywoman Xiyu Wang, but found herself a set and a break down after one hour and 17 minutes.
The American battled to win the entire match 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 7-5 in a gruelling 3hr 20minute match on Rod Laver Arena.
“One of the more unique matches I’ve played in a while,” Navarro said.
“It was just relying a lot, I guess, on my grit and toughness and fight.
While title rival Zheng won her first-round match in relative ease – beating Romanian qualifier Anca Todoni 7-6(3) 6-1 – to secure her second round.
While Zheng and Navarro could only meet in the final, it has not stopped a re-ignition of their rivalry which took center stage at the Olympics last summer.
Zheng drew criticism from Navarro after their marathon match which lasted three hours and saw the Chinese win 6-7 (7), 7-6 (4), 6-1 at the Olympics.
Navarro criticized Zheng for her lack of respect, saying: “I told her I didn’t respect her as a competitor… 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.”
Zheng responded to her criticism after being asked about her handshakes and whether she shows enough respect at the end of matches.
“Well, I always give a handshake to my opponent because I feel that’s the basic respect. Doesn’t matter if I win or I lost, I always give a handshake,” Zheng said in her post-match Australian Open press conference.
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“I don’t often give a hug to my opponent as well, because I feel that is not necessary for me.
“That’s why you will not see me lose one match with a happy face to the opponent. If you saw that on me, that is very strange”
Zheng will believe her hyper-competitive outlook is why she sits at World No.5 in the world.
The 22-year-old clinched Olympic Gold in the women’s singles tournament in Paris last summer and reached the Australian Open final last year.
While Navarro is the World No.8, with her best result at a major being the 2024 US Open where she reached the semi-finals.
Both players will be looking to reach the Australian Open final where they could set up a highly anticipated clash between themselves with both on opposite ends of the draw.
