Zheng Recovers From 5-0 Down Again to Knock Swiatek Out of the US Open
Zheng Qinwen produced her second remarkable recovery in three days to knock Iga Swiatek out of the US Open, winning 7-5 6-3 after trailing 5-0 in the opening set.
The Chinese qualifier, ranked 121st in the world, had been on court barely 20 minutes when she found herself five games down against the 2022 champion. She then won seven games in a row to claim the first set.
Two Sets, Two Recoveries
The pattern was familiar. Two days earlier Zheng had trailed Madison Keys 5-0 in the deciding set of their third-round match and saved a match point before winning the last seven games to come through 1-6, 7-6, 7-5.
Against Swiatek she saved three set points, two of them when the Pole served at 5-1 and another at 5-3, and won 12 of the final 15 points to take the set. Swiatek recovered briefly in the second before Zheng broke to lead 4-3 and closed out the match with the final four games.
Zheng fell onto her back with her arms outstretched after converting her fourth match point, a Swiatek backhand into the net. Swiatek left the court in tears.
Asked about doing the same thing twice in a row, Zheng said coming back from 0-5 again could not be put down to luck. She admitted she had started poorly and taken time to adjust to Arthur Ashe Stadium, saying she had found her rhythm little by little and had been so absorbed in the match that she lost track of the score in the first set.
She also noted how long it had been since she had beaten anyone in the top 10.
A Long Way Back
The result caps a difficult 14 months. Zheng reached a career-high fourth in the world and won Olympic gold in Paris in 2024, beating Swiatek in the semi-finals on the way to the title. She then had elbow surgery last year, missed long stretches of the season and saw her ranking collapse, forcing her to come through qualifying to reach the main draw in New York.
She is the first qualifier to reach the women's quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows since Emma Raducanu in 2021, and only the fourth in the Open era. Raducanu went on to win the title that year.
Zheng has also now reached three US Open quarter-finals, having done so in 2023 and 2024, more than any other Chinese player. She has won seven consecutive matches in New York counting qualifying.
Swiatek had won seven of their eight previous meetings, the exception being that Olympic semi-final.
Rybakina Next
Zheng will face Elena Rybakina in the last eight after the second seed beat Naomi Osaka 6-1, 6-4 to reach her deepest US Open quarter-final. Osaka, a two-time champion at the tournament, had been looking to reach the semi-finals for the second consecutive year.
Elsewhere in the women's draw, French Open champion Mirra Andreeva came from a set down to beat Anastasia Potapova 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 and will play the winner of Coco Gauff and Iva Jovic.
Aryna Sabalenka, chasing a third consecutive title, and Jessica Pegula are both through to the quarter-finals, where they meet Linda Noskova and Emma Navarro respectively.
