'Not in public': Australian Open star cringes over interview question

After adding rising star Biance Andreescu to her list of grand slam upsets, Taiwanese veteran Hsieh Su-Wei skilfully evaded a tricky line of questioning with a smile.

The world No.79 made her way to the third round of the Australian Open with a crushing 6-3, 6-2 victory over world No.9 Andreescu, adding to her impressive record against top 10 ranked players.

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The 35-year-old’s last eight wins on tour have come against opponents ranked within the top 10.

A third round matchup awaits, but before she could turn her attention to that, Hsieh had to deal with a slightly thorny question when interviewed on court after the game.

Courtside interviewer Brett Phillips was full of praise for Hsieh’s efforts, but she won the Melbourne Park crowd over further with a cheeky answer to his first question.

Phillips noted the aged difference between Hsieh and 20-year-old Andreescu, suggesting ‘35 might be the new 31’ - to which Hsieh had a hilarious answer.

“Just need to remind you in Asia we don’t normally say a girl’s age in public,” she joked, putting a finger to her lips to jokingly shush the host.

As the crowd chuckled, Phillips went on to say Hsieh clearly had plenty more to offer the tennis world.

“I look maybe a little bit younger but I try my best. Thank you so much for your comment,” Hsieh replied.

The funny exchange garnered attention on social media, with fans appreciating Hsieh for bringing some fun to proceedings.

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Coached by Australian great Paul McNamee, the world's top-ranked doubles player Hsieh has twice reached the second week of the Open - in 2008 and 2018.

The 35-year-old is now one win away from matching those runs to the last 16 after needing only an hour and 23 minutes to put Andreescu away.

Ranked No.71 in the world, Hsieh has only progressed beyond round two twice from 28 attempts at any of the other three grand slams.

But the funky baseliner says the Melbourne crowd brings the best out of her, especially when she's an underdog.

"It's strange, I normally feel more excited to play with a better player because you know they have all the skill in the court and are better than other girl," Hsieh said.

"So you need to find a way to get through and play your game. It is always not easy.

"But the crowd is always the best for us to keep fighting here."

Hsieh will face a fellow veteran in the next round in either 40-year-old Venus Williams or Italian qualifier Sara Errani, who play later on Wednesday.

With AAP

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