US Open fans have witnessed a display of sportsmanship as Mirra Andreeva tended to and consoled an injured Anastasia Potapova as the fifth seed won their fourth-round match.
Potapova jarred her knee as she lost the first point of what turned out to be their final game on Louis Armstrong Stadium, prompting Andreeva to rush to the other end of the court to check on her.
She helped the 24th seed up and Potapova was able to limp to her bench, where Andreeva asked if someone could bring her ice.
The French Open champion finished off the next three points for a 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 victory that sent her to the quarterfinals in Flushing Meadows for the first time, jogging around the net again for a warm embrace.
“It’s not the perfect end to the match,” 19-year-old Andreeva said.
Potapova appeared to be tearing up as Andreeva came around the net for a long embrace after the final point.
Potapova represents Austria but was born in Russia and still played under that flag when she won the junior Wimbledon championship in 2016.
“For me, Nastya, she was always like a prodigy,” Andreeva said of her 25-year-old opponent.
“She came on tour early. She also had a lot of wins. I also remember we were all watching and cheering for her when she won juniors Wimbledon title. I remember watching that match.
“For me, she was always, like, a little star that I was kind of always looking at.”
Potapova (right) appeared to be tearing up as the pair embraced after match point. (Getty Images: Pete Staples/USTA)
Potapova won their first meeting on tour in 2022 but Andreeva has won the past four, preventing Potapova from reaching her first grand slam quarterfinal.
“First, she just beat me. So after, I just kind of knew that she’s a tough player to play, but at the same time, she was so nice,” Andreeva said.
“Then since then we would practice together, and just like that, the more you see each other, the more you spend time together, then you just talk about everything, discuss everything. Then, just like that, I feel like we have a good connection off the court.”
Elsewhere, Qinwen Zheng mounted another extraordinary fightback to upset six-time major winner Iga Świątek and reach the quarterfinals.
Qinwen Zheng is the first qualifier since 2021 to make it this far in the women’s draw. (Getty Images: Al Bello)
Zheng has become Flushing Meadows’ most entertaining escape artist this year, coming back from a 0-5 deficit in the deciding set against third-round foe Madison Keys.
She let the first five games slip through her fingers in 20 minutes against 2022 champion Świątek before digging in, and she collapsed to the court with her hands in her face after sealing the win on the fourth match point.
China’s Olympic champion is the first qualifier since Emma Raducanu in 2021 to reach the quarterfinals of the women’s draw, as she battles back from a chronic elbow injury that had stunted her career.
Two-time winner Naomi Osaka was summarily swept aside by second seed Elena Rybakina, who won 6-1, 6-4 in just over an hour.
Coco Gauff, the 2023 champion, beat 18-year-old Iva Jovic 6-1, 6-4 in an all-American clash to decide the final women’s quarterfinalist.
Gauff will face Andreeva, and Rybakina will take on Zheng. On the other side of the draw, third seed Jessica Pegula faces Emma Navarro, while world number one Aryna Sabalenka is up against Wimbledon champions Linda Noskova.
Reuters
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