Before this quarter-final US Open fans and experts were asking themselves only one question: whether in the third match Qinwen Zheng will manage to have a balanced fight with Aryna Sabalenka. Until Wednesday, the Olympic champion was helpless in the clashes with the Belarusian.
A year ago, in the US Open quarterfinals, Sabalenka needed just 74 minutes to win 6-1, 6-4. Their final at this year's Australian Open lasted just three minutes longer, with the Belarusian winning 6-3, 6-2. This time, things went even more smoothly.
Sabalenka again needed only 74 minutes to dominate and dismantle Zheng, advancing to semi-finals US Open. Although the first game was very close, lasting several minutes and showing excellent tennis from both sides, it was only one of the few times the Chinese player was able to compete with Sabalenka.
The Belarusian defended her serve in the first game, but then quickly broke Zheng and immediately led 3:0. Although the Chinese player managed to win one game, she was broken for the second time in the sixth set and ultimately lost the first set 1:6.
The second set was set in the first game when Sabalenka broke her opponent. The Belarusian did the same in the fifth game, taking a 4:1 lead. And she couldn't waste it. Sabalenka crushed Zheng 6:1, 6:2 and advanced to the best four of the US Open in great style.
Sabalenka crushed Zheng
It was a show from the Belarusian, who served perfectly and left Zheng with no hope on the court with her powerful shots. Suffice it to say that in the entire match, the Chinese player had only one opportunity to break Sabalenka, while the Belarusian had as many as eight such opportunities.
After the match, Zheng was not in the mood for the slightest courtesy towards Sabalenka. The Chinese player quickly shook hands with her opponent, not even looking her in the eye. The Olympic champion simply quickly packed her bag and fled the court, and at a press conference said that her game was influenced by the previous match with Donna Vekić, which ended record-breakingly late, in the middle of the New York night.
“It had a big impact on me. The match ended at 2:30 a.m. and I couldn't sleep after that. The day before the match with Sabalenka, I felt so awful that I couldn't train. I couldn't wake up. I wanted to practice a little bit, but I really couldn't,” Zheng said.
Sabalenka has advanced to the semifinals of the US Open for the fourth time in a row. A year ago, the Belarusian lost in the final to Coco GauffIn 2021, she was defeated by Leylah Fernandez in the semi-finals, and a year later, Iga Świątek was better at the same stage.
It is also the Belarusian's seventh semifinal in her eighth consecutive Grand Slam appearance. Since starting at the US Open in 2022, Sabalenka has only failed to do so once. It was at this year's French Open, where Sabalenka lost to Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals.
– I used to not know how to cope with the pressure of matches at this level. On my days off, I would only think about tennis, wasting my energy on it. Today I am calmer. After all, it is only tennis. I just want to play my best every time and I know that if I do, I will win – said the Belarusian.
In the semi-finals Sabalenka will play against Emma Navarro. In the other quarter-finals Beatriz Haddad Maia will play with Karolina Muchova, and Iga Świątek with Jessica Pegula.