By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK, Sept 7 (Reuters) – Zheng Qinwen mounted another extraordinary fight back to upset six-times major winner Iga Swiatek and reach the U.S. Open quarter-finals on Monday, as Russian fifth seed Mirra Andreeva extended her deepest run in New York.
Two-times winner Naomi Osaka faces the biggest challenge of her tournament later in the programme against second seed Elena Rybakina while the 2023 champion Coco Gauff plays Iva Jovic in an all-American clash.
Zheng has become Flushing Meadows’ most entertaining escape artist this year, coming back from a 0-5 deficit in the deciding set against third-round foe Madison Keys.
She let the first five games slip through her fingers in 20 minutes against the 2022 champion Swiatek before digging in, and she collapsed to the court with her hands in her face after sealing the win on the fourth match point.
China’s Olympic champion is the first qualifier since Emma Raducanu in 2021 to reach the quarter-finals of the women’s draw, as she battles back from a chronic elbow injury that had stunted her career.
Andreeva’s entertaining match against Anastasia Potapova ended on a down note as the Austrian went down injured in the final game.
Potapova valiantly retook the court but could not hold off the inevitable as Andreeva sealed the 5-7 6-4 6-3 win with a backhand strike before going across the net to hug her opponent.
OSAKA, GAUFF, ZVEREV HIGHLIGHT EVENING PROGRAMME
The later action in New York features two of the tournament’s reliable fan favourites in Osaka and Gauff.
Osaka faces another stellar hard court player in Rybakina, who ended her Toronto campaign at the quarter-final stage in their only prior meeting last month.
The Japanese 13th seed has enjoyed a solid year at the Slams but has struggled against top-10 players, going 1-for-6 this season. She will hope to hit another gear against the Kazakh, who won her second major title at the Australian Open this year.
Italian Luciano Darderi beat Alexander Zverev in the Rome Masters earlier this year, and he will hope to recreate the magic when he faces the top men’s seed again in the first match of the night on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
American Learner Tien will hope to join his compatriots Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe and Alex Michelsen in the quarter-final stage when he plays Russian Karen Khachanov in the final match of the night at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New YorkEditing by Christian Radnedge)
