Zheng Qinwen beat No. 8 seed Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-3 in the fourth round of the US Open on Monday, September 7, to reach the quarterfinals in Flushing Meadows. She is the first qualifier to reach the final eight there since Emma Raducanu won the 2021 title, per the Associated Press. Raducanu’s run five years ago made her the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam title in the Open era, which dates to 1968.
The second 5-0 comeback in three days
Zheng lost the first five games of the match against Swiatek, the 2022 US Open champion. Swiatek could not convert two set points while serving at 5-1, and Zheng fought off a third when Swiatek served at 5-3. Zheng then took the set 7-5 and the second set 6-3.
It was the second straight match in which she erased a 5-0 deficit and won seven consecutive games. Two days earlier she trailed 5-0 in the third set against No. 22 seed Madison Keys before winning the final seven games to take that match 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5.
Zheng, referring to the Keys match, said: “I guess to come back 0-5 yesterday is not lucky, that’s all I can say.”
Swiatek received treatment on her left thigh during the second set but said afterward that her problems were neither physical nor mental. “It was more that I started making mistakes from easy balls and Qinwen stopped doing mistakes,” she said. “She played the balls better.”
Zheng had to qualify to get here
Zheng was a US Open quarterfinalist in both 2023 and 2024, the year she also reached the Australian Open final and won Olympic gold in singles in Paris. Her ranking fell after elbow surgery, and she had to come through qualifying to reach the main draw this year.
Swiatek arrived with a 7-1 head-to-head record against her. The lone loss was that 2024 Olympic semifinal, where Zheng came back from 4-0 down in the second set and ended Swiatek’s 25-match winning streak at Roland Garros, the site of Swiatek’s four French Open titles.
Rybakina is next, with the No. 1 ranking on the line
Zheng plays No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina on Wednesday. Rybakina advanced with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Naomi Osaka that took 1 hour, 6 minutes and ended on an ace — Rybakina leads the WTA Tour in that category. Osaka, a two-time US Open champion, appeared to be struggling with a foot or ankle problem.
Rybakina is guaranteed to replace Aryna Sabalenka at No. 1 in the WTA rankings if she reaches the semifinals. Even if she loses to Zheng, she can still get there if none of Sabalenka, Coco Gauff or Jessica Pegula wins the title. Rybakina won the Australian Open this year for her second major, and her current No. 2 ranking is a career best.
“Of course I want it, I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t wish this, but definitely that’s one of my goals,” Rybakina said of the top ranking.
The rest of the draw
Gauff beat No. 14 seed Iva Jovic 6-1, 6-4 to return to the US Open quarterfinals for the first time since winning the 2023 title. She faces French Open champion Mirra Andreeva, the No. 5 seed, who beat No. 24 Anastasia Potapova 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.
On the men’s side, Botic van de Zandschulp outlasted lucky loser Arthur Gea 3-6, 6-7 (0), 7-6 (7), 7-6 (3), 6-4 in 5 hours, 13 minutes, the fourth-longest match in US Open history. He plays top seed Alexander Zverev, who beat No. 21 Luciano Darderi 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (3). Karen Khachanov beat No. 14 Learner Tien 7-5, 4-6, 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-4 and will play No. 28 Alexander Blockx, the first Belgian man to reach the US Open quarterfinals. The tournament has already produced upsets in the early rounds, including Mariano Navone’s five-set win over Novak Djokovic in the first round.
Earlier this season Linda Noskova beat Karolina Muchova for the Wimbledon title. On the men’s side, Jannik Sinner won a second straight Wimbledon in July.
Source: Associated Press
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