By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK, Sept 9 (Reuters) – Second seed Elena Rybakina ended Chinese qualifier Zheng Qinwen’s stirring U.S. Open run with a 3-6 6-1 6-4 victory on Wednesday, advancing to the semi-finals and securing the world number one ranking for the first time.
The Australian Open winner, who will replace Aryna Sabalenka at the top of the rankings when they are updated after the tournament, recovered from a slow start and struck 20 winners as she gradually broke down Zheng’s resistance.
Olympic champion Zheng, forced to go through qualifying after a chronic elbow injury disrupted her career, wrote a fine comeback story in New York and exited the court to applause from the crowd.
“I’m glad I pushed all the negative thoughts away and I kept on fighting,” said Rybakina.
“(World number one is) an amazing achievement but you know how quick everything can change in tennis… I just need to focus on my game, try to recover and enjoy tomorrow.”
Rybakina will next play either fifth seed Mirra Andreeva or 2023 winner Coco Gauff.
Zheng saved five break points in a marathon ninth game before closing out the opening set, but her level dipped in the second set as the Australian Open winner grabbed the momentum. Zheng produced only one winner in the set, compared with 10 from her opponent.
Zheng had done some of her best work in New York when her back was against the wall and she saved three break points in the penultimate game of the third set to the increasing frustration of the Kazakh.
But there was no escape act this time for Zheng, the first qualifier to reach the quarter-final stage since Briton Emma Raducanu’s title run in 2021, as Rybakina continued to apply the pressure and Zheng surrendered the decisive break with a double fault.
“The wins that I had so far were great, but obviously today in the match I got lot of chances in the third set, but I didn’t take it,” said Zheng. “But obviously I could take positive things from the U.S. Open this year.”
The win marked another encouraging milestone for Rybakina, who retired injured from the Cincinnati tune-up tournament and appeared doubtful to even compete in New York.
“It’s tough to find words,” she said after the win. “It wasn’t maybe the highest level but I’m glad I pushed through.”
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New YorkEditing by Toby Davis)
