Comeback queen Zheng strikes again for US Open quarter-final berth
Zheng's 0-5 Rescue Over Swiatek Sends Shockwaves Through the US Open Draw
Indiadailyupdate.com – The Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd witnessed one of the most dramatic reversals in recent Grand Slam history on Monday night, as Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen erased a five-game deficit in the opening set to dismantle six-time major winner Iga Swiatek and punch her ticket into the US Open quarter-finals. The victory, sealed by two breaks of serve in the second set, marked yet another chapter in a remarkable post-surgery resurgence for the Chinese star, who had slipped as far as world number 121 following elbow surgery the previous year.
The scale of what Zheng accomplished cannot be overstated. She became the first qualifier or lucky loser ever to defeat Swiatek at a major championship, a feat that underscores just how far outside the conventional pecking order she now operates. More strikingly, she is the first qualifier to reach the women's quarter-finals at the US Open since Emma Raducanu's fairy-tale title run in 2021 — a comparison that, while historically resonant, only amplifies the improbability of Zheng's current trajectory.
From Gold Medal Glory to the Fringes of the Rankings
Two years ago in Paris, Zheng stood atop the Olympic podium after defeating Swiatek in the gold medal match. That triumph had cemented her status as a former world number four and one of the sport's elite. Then came the elbow surgery, a prolonged absence, and a slow, grinding climb back through the lower tiers of the rankings. Arriving at Flushing Meadows ranked 121st, she had to thread her way through qualifying and the lucky-loser pathway to reach the main draw — a route that would have been unthinkable for the player who once dominated the sport's top tier.
Monday's match, however, suggested that the Zheng who walked onto the Ashe court was very much the same competitor who had toppled Swiatek in Paris. After falling behind 5-0 in the first set, she strung together seven consecutive games to level the scoreline, saved three set points to force a tiebreak, and then carried that momentum into the second set where two breaks of Swiatek's serve proved decisive.
"I guess to come back from 0-5 is not lucky, that's all I can say," Zheng remarked after the match, reflecting on a sequence of events that defied every statistical expectation.
She acknowledged that adjusting to the vastness of the Ashe Stadium took time, noting it had been "a long, long time" since she had been scheduled on a main show court. Her tactical approach, she explained, was deliberately stripped of complexity.
"I just focus on point by point," she added, describing the methodical dismantling of Swiatek's serve that followed once the momentum shifted.
Swiatek's Disappointing Year Takes Another Blow
For Swiatek, the defeat compounded an already underwhelming season. The Polish star, who had been dethroned from the top of the rankings and has struggled to find consistent form, walked off the court in tears. Yet she attempted to minimize the significance of surrendering a five-game lead.
"You can lose a set from any score, so nothing special about that," she said. "Just that's what happened and that's it."
Whether that stoicism reflects genuine equanimity or simply the need to compartmentalize a deeply uncomfortable evening remains to be seen. The psychological toll of such a collapse, particularly on a stage of this magnitude, tends to linger longer than the immediate post-match comments suggest.
What Awaits in the Quarter-Finals
Zheng's next opponent will be determined by the outcome of a heavyweight clash between world number two Elena Rybakina and two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka. Rybakina, who captured her second major title at the Australian Open in January, has yet to drop a set in New York and requires just two more victories to dethrone Aryna Sabalenka at the top of the WTA rankings. Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam winner and two-time champion of this tournament, presents a different kind of test — one rooted in experience and home-court familiarity rather than raw power.
For Zheng, either matchup represents a step further into uncharted territory. She has already rewritten the script of what a qualifier can achieve at a major; the quarter-final will test whether that script has a sequel.
Other Early-Session Results
In another women's match, fifth-seeded Mirra Andreeva, the reigning French Open champion, overcame a shaky start to beat Anastasia Potapova 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. The 19-year-old Russian had dispatched her previous three opponents in straight sets but found herself outplayed early by Potapova, who was born in Russia but now represents Austria. The match's final game was interrupted when Potapova lost her footing while leaning for a ball, falling to the ground in visible pain. Andreeva rushed to assist her rival to a chair, where treatment was administered to Potapova's knee before she limped through the remainder of the point.
"Nastya, she's my good friend," Andreeva said afterward. "Seeing what a battle we had and seeing in the last game her fall like this, it's not easy."
Under the lights, men's top seed Alexander Zverev was scheduled to close play on the Ashe court against 21st-seeded Italian Luciano Darderi. The German, who has become a fixture of the late-night sessions — playing into the small hours across two five-set marathons and a three-set third-round victory over Alejandro Tabilo — is chasing a fifth US Open quarter-final appearance. Darderi, by contrast, would be making his first Grand Slam last eight, a career-defining milestone if he can complete the upset.
Earlier under the lights, fourth-seeded Coco Gauff faced fellow American Iva Jovic, an 18-year-old making waves on the professional circuit. Meanwhile, Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo and Belgium's Alexander Blockx, both riding momentum from surprise victories in earlier rounds, contested another last-eight berth in a match that added further unpredictability to an already volatile tournament.
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