Australian Open 2021: Taiwan’s ‘ageless’ Hsieh Su-wei crushes Bianca Andreescu
- Veteran breezes past Canadian in straight set and faces winner of Venus Williams and Sara Errani in third round
- ‘In Asia we don’t say the girl’s age in public,’ doubles No 1 tells interviewer after another win over a grand slam seed
Andreescu, the eighth seed at Melbourne Park, had no answer for world No 71 Hsieh, who looked in complete control in their second round match at Rod Laver Arena.
Hsieh, 35, beat the 2019 US Open champion 6-3, 6-2 in an hour and 23 minutes and will play the winner of Venus Williams and Sara Errani in the third round.
The veteran is better known as a doubles player where she is ranked world No 1, but she has beaten some of the best players in the world at major championships over the years.
She beat top-seeded Simona Halep at Wimbledon 2018 after knocking out that year’s Australian Open third seed Gabine Muguruza. The year before she beat French Open third seed Johanna Konta at Roland Garros.
“It’s strange, I normally feel more excited to play the better players,” she said after her win, explaining that she enjoys her underdog status. “The crowd is always the best for us to keep fighting.”
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When asked if she plays better on the faster hard courts, Hsieh was dismissive.
“I was playing at the US Open, which is hard court, but when I was not playing I was practising in Central Park, which is clay court.”
The interviewer posed the question of how much tennis she has left in her at 35.
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“Just little remind you, in Asia we normally don’t say the girl’s age in public,” she said. “I look maybe a little bit younger but I try my best.”
Andreescu, 20, beat Serena Williams to win the US Open in 2019, but missed all of 2020 due to a knee injury.
The Canadian, who was in hard lockdown before the Australian Open, double faulted at advantage before hitting the net to give Hsieh a third match point and then double faulted again.
