After stunning Simona Halep at Wimbledon, Taiwan tennis star Hsieh Su-wei has recipe for success at All England Club
World number one is sent packing despite going a set up as former doubles champion goes deepest in singles slam yet
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Fuelled by burgers, lobster and a new-found freedom on the court Taiwain’s Hsieh Su-wei joined the Wimbledon giant-killing spree with a stunning upset of world number one Simona Halep.
Hsieh’s 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 win sent French Open champion Halep crashing out in the third round on Saturday.
Hsieh, the world number 48, battled back from 2-5 down in the final set and saved a match point in the decider when Halep failed to serve out the win.
Her unique style of play drove Halep to distraction as Hsieh unfurled a series of drop-shots, delicate slices and seemingly innocuous groundstrokes.
And Hsieh’s unusual game-plan matched her whimsical personality off the court.
Asked how she would celebrate her success, the quirky Hsieh revealed her love of checking out London’s gastronomic delights.
“There’s a shop in London very famous now, called Burger & Lobster,” she said.
“This is my list every year for my team. I will take all my team to the shop and then we enjoy it.”
Hsieh is apparently a discerning foodie, showing little appetite when McDonald's was mentioned as a potential destination.
But she did joke she takes advice from her six-year-old nephew on where to eat.
“We need to find something new. McDonald’s? Hmmm, my nephew is really picky. I need to ask my nephew first,” she grinned.
“Before the afternoon tea, my nephew was like, Afternoon tea, afternoon tea. I said, We will go before we play, relax, it’s OK.”
Once her post-match celebration meal is devoured, Hsieh can focus on extending her unexpected run at Wimbledon.
The 32-year-old will make her first appearance in the Wimbledon last 16 when she faces Slovakian world number 33 Dominika Cibulkova on Monday.
Hsieh, a former Wimbledon doubles champion, has never reached the quarter-finals of a grand slam.
With nine of the top 10 women’s seeds eliminated already, Hsieh has a chance to go deep into the tournament.
But she insisted it was too soon to start dreaming of grand slam glory.
“I think all the girls not silly. For me, I just try to enjoy the tennis and enjoy the city, enjoy the food,” she said.
“I feel I’m really lucky to be a tennis player, stay here until the second week. I’m very, very grateful and thankful for about all this.”
Halep isn’t Hsieh’s only high-profile victim this year as she defeated Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza and former All England Club finalist Agnieszka Radwanska at the Australian Open.
Hsieh believes her sudden success is a result of playing with more confidence and freedom rather than worrying about failure.
“I don’t learn how to be giant killer. I just want to feel free and enjoy the match. You know anything can happen on the court.
“You don’t have big chance to win, because they’re very good. So all I want to do is just go on the court and hit the shot and run every point and enjoy it.
“I was doing better this year, then I have my family and my boyfriend travelling with me.”
After finally winning her maiden Grand Slam crown in Paris, Halep slammed her “unprofessional” approach.
“I just was too negative to myself, talking too much. I think because I was tired. I couldn’t stay focused for every ball,” Halep said.
“I was leading the match, I was up, and I couldn’t finish it. I’m not hard. I’m just realistic and honest with myself.
“I accept that it was an unprofessional attitude from me today.”
