Zheng strikes again, Andreeva through to quarters

Olympic gold medallist Zheng QinWen pulled off another incredible comeback on Monday to stun six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek and reach the US Open quarterfinals.

Order of Play

It was one more gritty win for the Chinese star, a former world No 4 now ranked 121st in the wake of elbow surgery last year.

Zheng won the last seven games to stun Madison Keys in her previous match.

After falling behind 5-0 in the first set against Swiatek she again reeled off seven straight.

She broke the Polish star twice in the second set to clinch the win over the player she beat in the gold medal match in Paris two years ago.

Swiatek, who fell to Zheng in the gold medal match in Paris two years ago, left the Arthur Ashe Stadium in tears.

"I guess to come back from 0-5 (Saturday) is not lucky, that's all I can say," Zheng said after becoming the first qualifier or lucky loser to beat Swiatek at a Grand Slam.

Zheng said it took her some time to settle in on the cavernous Ashe Stadium court, noting it's been "a long, long time" since she'd been scheduled on a main show court.

"I just focus on point by point," added Zheng, who saved three set points in the opening set and with momentum on her side broke Swiatek twice in the second.

It was back to the drawing board for Swiatek in a largely disappointing year, but she insisted the sting of surrendering a 5-0 lead wouldn't linger.

"You can lose a set from any score, so nothing special about that," she said. "Just that's what happened and that's it."

Zheng is the first qualifier to reach the US Open women's quarterfinals since Emma Raducanu – who went on to win the title – in 2021.

She'll face next face world No 2 Elena Rybakina, who swept past four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka 6-1, 6-4.

Kazakhstan's Rybakina, who added the Australian Open title to her 2022 Wimbledon crown this year, is into the US Open last eight for the first time in her career.

The meeting with 2024 Olympic gold medallist Zheng will carry extra weight. If Rybakina reaches the semifinals she is assured of supplanting Aryna Sabalenka atop the world rankings, even if the Belarusian wins her third straight US Open title.

"Of course I want it," Rybakina said. "I don't know anyone who wouldn't wish this."

But, she added: "I try to approach the same, fight to the end my next match -- let's see what will happen."

Rybakina needed just 66 minutes to get past Osaka firing 29 winners and saving the only break point she faced.

Osaka fought off pair of match points in the penultimate game, but ultimately the unforced errors that have plagued her all tournament proved too much to overcome.

In other early action, fifth-seeded French Open champion Mirra Andreeva advanced with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Anastasia Potapova in a match marred by an injury to Potapova in the final game.

Russia's Andreeva had won her three previous matches in straight sets, but she made a sloppy start against Potapova, who was also born in Russia but now plays for Austria.

'IT'S NOT EASY'

The 19-year old Grand Slam champion steadied herself. Potapova was serving to stay in the match when she lost her footing leaning for a ball and fell to the ground writhing in pain.

Andreeva rushed to her side and helped her to her chair, where Potapova received treatment on her knee before limping through the rest of the game.

"Nastya, she's my good friend," Andreeva said. "Seeing what a battle we had and seeing in the last game her fall like this, it's not easy.

"I can imagine what she's going through and I have goosebumps on my body."