Tennis - US Open 2024 - Emma Navarro : "Qinwen Zheng... She didn't treat me or the sport with respect"
Chez elle, à New York, Emma Navarro disputera les demi-finales de l'US Open. La joueuse de 23 ans a écoeuré Paula Badosa ce mardi, en remportant les six derniers jeux du match (6-2, 7-5). Avant cette édition, elle n'avait jamais remporté le moindre match dans un grand tableau à Flushing Meadows. Elle va donc logiquement entrer dans le top 10 pour la première fois de sa carrière à l'issue de la semaine. Une juste récompense après son huitième de finale à Roland-Garros, et son quart de finale à Wimbledon, plus tôt dans la saison. Au prochain tour, elle aurait pu retrouver Qinwen Zheng, un mois après leur match épique aux Jeux olympiques et les propos étonnants de l'Américaine à son encontre. Finalement, c'est Aryna Sabalenka qu'elle défiera pour une place en finale.
Video : @USOpen
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00:00Yeah, good win today. I think, you know, things weren't looking great there in the
00:08second set, but just tried to be really tough, stick in there, you know, make her
00:15hit one more ball. I felt like if I could, you know, scrap out a few longer points,
00:20maybe put some pressure on her and, you know, I felt like I could come back and
00:27maybe close it out in two sets, so I'm happy with how I was able to do that.
00:32Thank you. Name and affiliation, one question please, if you would. Brian.
00:36Brian Lewis from the New York Post. I mean, you talked about when you were down 5-1, I think, 15-0-15.
00:46When you won those four straight points, what was it that you, I guess,
00:51sensed about the momentum that you saw a crack that you could take advantage of?
00:58Yeah, I think I felt like she, even though she was up 5-1, 5-2 after that game, I
01:05felt like, you know, she wasn't totally confident in her ability to close out
01:10that set, so I felt like, you know, if I could push back a little bit and make her
01:17think a little bit on her service game, you know, maybe I could sneak my way back
01:23in there, and yeah, I think sometimes you're out on the court and, you know, you
01:29can kind of picture yourself playing a third set, and when I was
01:34out there, I didn't picture myself playing a third set and felt like, yeah, I
01:40don't know, I could come back and do it in two.
01:42Court?
01:44I think you said a while ago that when you got your wild card making your WTA debut in
01:50Charleston, you walked off the court being, like, very overwhelmed by that
01:53experience. When's the last time you have felt overwhelmed on the court? Because it
01:58doesn't seem like it's been a while.
02:01Yeah, it's crazy that, you know, I'm able to walk out on Ash and feel comfortable
02:09because it's definitely not my nature to, you know, want to be in the spotlight and
02:15seek, you know, the attention of a lot of people, so it's kind of crazy just, yeah,
02:23my comfort level out there. I think, you know, I was a little bit overwhelmed
02:30maybe at Indian Wells playing on center court, but I think it was so
02:35important for me to have those experiences at that stage to, you know, be
02:40able to come out on a day like today and feel comfortable, you know, on probably
02:45the biggest stage in tennis. So I'm happy with my progression of just feeling more
02:51comfortable on big stages.
02:52Cindy?
02:54Emma, at Wimbledon, you said after you beat Naomi that you said you were
02:58overwhelmed by the thought that you were playing on the same court that Roger and
03:01Rafa had played on. Were you thinking about that at all today, about the people
03:05who had come before you on Ash Stadium?
03:08No, I wasn't. I was kind of laser focused, I guess, today and, you know, just
03:15locked into the task at hand. But yeah, now to look back and remember who's
03:21played on me before and having Serena here the other day, it's pretty insane
03:27that just all the legends of our sport have played on that court and, you know,
03:33just walked up to the same baseline that I'm walking up to to serve. Yeah, it's
03:39crazy and I definitely feel, you know, just very grateful to, you know, be taking
03:46that stage and be playing the tennis that I'm playing and have another
03:51opportunity to do so in a couple days.
03:54Phil?
03:55Philip Bondi, New York Daily News. You thanked your dad after the match.
04:00Tennis is an expensive sport. How much did the family resources help you early on?
04:06Yeah, I think, you know, I had access to courts from a young age and I was able to
04:17practice with other kids and, you know, I had coaches that would help me out for
04:23sure. But, you know, I think a lot of kids have access to that, especially in
04:29the U.S. And, you know, I think it's cool that our sport is growing and more and
04:35more kids do have, you know, resources like that. So, you know, for sure it played
04:40a role in allowing me to be where I'm at now. And yeah, I'm super grateful that I
04:47did have those resources as a kid.
04:49Howard?
04:51Since you couldn't play Zhang next, I wanted to ask if you could explain what
04:59you said after the match in Paris and what you meant by that.
05:04Yeah, I don't want to go super into the weeds with it, but I think during that
05:12match and, you know, on the practice court and the last few times I've played her,
05:19we have been playing each other since we were juniors. I felt just a little bit
05:26disrespected by her and, you know, I don't want to, like I said, go too into detail
05:33with it. But yeah, I think she didn't necessarily treat me or the sport with
05:41respect and that's why I said what I said after the match. But yeah, that's it.
05:50Matt?
05:51Can I ask about your grandmother, who you mentioned I think earlier in the year
05:55and she's upstate New York, if I recall?
05:58She's in Mystic, Connecticut.
06:00Mystic, Connecticut. Right, around here. Is she able to come here at all?
06:05You sort of told this story of her calling you after all these matches and I'm sort of
06:12curious how you guys are communicating and how you're seeing her throughout this run.
06:17Yeah, my aunt and uncle have been driving up here for every match and bringing her
06:24with them. I think it was after my second or third round. They drove here, watched
06:31my match, drove back home. They got home at like 10 p.m. I think and then they re-watched
06:37my match. Yeah, she's insane. But yeah, it's awesome to have her support. I saw her
06:47after my second round match in the stands and at my first match she was screaming my
06:53name when I walked onto the court trying to get my attention and my mom said,
06:58Grammy's the only person that could get away with doing that. So yeah, she's awesome and
07:03it's been great to have her here.
07:06A few tips. Yeah, more maybe mental stuff, but yeah, a few tips.
07:12Hi Emma, David King, tennis.com. I'm sorry to go back to the moment about the Olympics
07:16but I just wanted to ask because I think it was a moment that surprised people because
07:19you're known for being so calm and even Kiel on court. Did you surprise yourself when you
07:23said what you said at the net and have you had a chance to speak to her in the weeks
07:27since then?
07:28No, I haven't spoken to her since and no, I didn't surprise myself. I had, I felt that
07:37way the whole match and even if I had won, I probably would have said the same thing.
07:43You know, it wasn't a sort of in the moment emotional thing. It was kind of just how I
07:48felt and, you know, I think it got a lot more attention than I thought it was going to.
07:55And yeah, I think, you know, maybe it's just one person's opinion, but yeah, it wasn't
08:05an emotional outburst. It was kind of just matter of factly how I felt.
08:10Eric Jackson with Sportico. Emma, you touched on it a little bit before, but I just wanted
08:13to ask you, kind of growing up with your wealthier background, you know, compared to
08:18your counterparts and opponents, how do you think that's helped you, you know, succeed
08:22and accomplish your own goals?
08:24Yeah, like I talked about before, I think, you know, I did have access to resources as
08:31a kid, but, you know, I don't want that to take away from the fact that, you know, I've
08:38worked really, really hard to be where I'm at and I've put a ton of hours in and I started
08:45training twice a day and getting in the gym from the time I was eight, nine years old.
08:51And, you know, it's been a ton of hard work and dedication. And yeah, of course, having
08:58access to, you know, courts and coaches and other kids to hit with definitely helped me.
09:05But there's also a lot of hard work that goes into it.
09:09Okay, we're going to go Richard, Bill, Willie. That's all we have time for. Richard?
09:13Emma, you gave a shout out to your dad at the end there and I just wondered if you might
09:17share any of the conversations you remember having him with him growing up, just how he
09:23encouraged you.
09:24Yeah, he's been my number one fan, my number one supporter my entire life. He taught my
09:33siblings and I a lot of really important lessons from the time we were young that definitely
09:39pertain to tennis, but also just life. And, you know, I think he was definitely obviously
09:47an advocate for, you know, me trying to make something of tennis. But he also wanted me
09:55to, he always said he didn't want me to be a one trick pony. So he was an advocate of
10:02me working really hard in school. And, you know, it was always family, school, then tennis.
10:08And I think he did a really good job at putting things into perspective. You know, he didn't
10:15grow up with a lot of money. It was him and seven siblings and my grandfather coached
10:23football. And, you know, he grew up as a kid doing odd jobs trying to make a penny.
10:29And, you know, he worked really hard to get where he's at. And he instilled a lot of the
10:35lessons that he's learned along the way into my siblings and I. And yeah, I think he was
10:42a big proponent that, you know, doing hard physical things makes you really tough and
10:51teaches you a lot of lessons. So I think that was part of the reason that he wanted
10:58my siblings and I to play sports, tennis specifically. And, you know, I always or he
11:07always taught us that, you know, tennis is really important, but it's more about the
11:13lessons you're learning along the way, the life lessons that you're learning and you're
11:18learning how to be tough and resilient. And yeah, I think I can't remember what the
11:24question was, but yeah.
11:27Bill, and we close it. Go ahead.
11:30Just a while ago, it was Tyler, Texas and Midlands and all that. And now you've had
11:35this run from slam to slam to slam. And here you are. I believe a while ago you might have
11:41said that you were surprised and not surprised. If you don't mind, could you just go into
11:45that again? And just briefly, where did your granddad coach football, please?
11:50He coached at Wabash for a little bit, Williams College and Princeton. And yeah, I think
11:59I think I've gone through periods of time where, you know, I'm surprised at where I'm
12:04at, but also when I look back and think about, you know, the methodical approach to tennis
12:13that I've taken. And yeah, just that, you know, when I look at my physical ability and
12:22my mental ability in this sport, it's it's not surprising. And I feel, you know, just
12:31more comfortable now with with having good results and having success. And yeah, I think
12:37I've had periods of both surprise and not surprise. But, you know, right now, I think
12:46I'm I'm ready to be in this position. And I think that's probably a result of, yeah,
12:54just this sort of slow, gradual, methodical approach I've taken to tennis and improving
13:01myself.
13:02Willie, last question.
13:03So you mentioned Zhang in terms of your interactions. What about your thoughts on her as a player
13:10and the challenge of facing her? And then if you wouldn't mind addressing that with
13:14regard to Arena?
13:15Yeah, she's a great player. I think she has a really good serve. I think she has really
13:23big ground strokes. I think she's super powerful and, you know, covers the court well and,
13:30you know, puts a lot of pressure on you as a returner and on the serve as well. So I
13:37think she'll, yeah, it'll be a great challenge. And Sabalenka is similar, you know, big serve,
13:44big ground strokes. So I probably take those two matches on kind of similarly in terms
13:52of, you know, being aggressive and pushing back against their powerful games. And, you
13:59know, as always trying to scrap out some longer points and make them hit one more ball.
14:05But you didn't touch on Sabalenka's experience and being a major champion. What do you think
14:12that effect is?
14:13Yeah, I think it definitely comes into play. You know, she's been on this stage before.
14:20She's been in this position before. But I feel like she, I don't know, she might feel
14:28like she has something to lose, whereas I feel like I have everything to go after. And,
14:36you know, that's something that I work on a lot, trying to put myself in a position
14:41to go after something, you know, no matter the match or the opponent. So, yeah.