Andreeva reaches US Open quarterfinals in match marked by Potapova’s injury
In New York, United States, fifth seed Mirra Andreeva defeated Anastasia Potapova in the fourth round of the US Open — 5:7, 6:4, 6:3 — and reached the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows for the first time in her career. Near the end of the match, Potapova injured her knee, and Andreeva approached her opponent, helped her get up and asked for ice to be brought.
As ABC News Australia reports, 24th seed Potapova injured her knee after the first lost point in the final game of the match on Louis Armstrong Court. She was able to limp to her bench. Andreeva won the next three points and, after the match ended, again went to the net and hugged her opponent.
The tennis players’ relationship off the court
After the match, 19-year-old Andreeva said that her opponent’s injury was not an ideal way for the match to end. Potapova, who represents Austria and was born in Russia, may have been emotional after the final point, according to the source’s observation.
Andreeva said that as a child she viewed 25-year-old Potapova as a prodigy and followed her victory at the 2016 junior Wimbledon. According to her, after their first head-to-head meeting at tour level, the players began training together and developed a good relationship off the court.
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Potapova won their first tour-level match in 2022, but Andreeva secured the next four victories. The defeat prevented Potapova from reaching the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time.
Zheng defeats Swiatek
In another match, Zheng Qinwen beat six-time Grand Slam tournament winner Iga Swiatek and also advanced to the quarterfinals. The Chinese Olympic champion became the first player to come through qualifying and reach this stage of the women’s US Open since Emma Raducanu in 2021.
Earlier in the tournament, Zheng came back from 0:5 in the deciding set of her match against Madison Keys. Against Swiatek, she lost the first five games in 20 minutes, but managed to mount a comeback and converted her fourth match point.
