WHAT HAPPENED: It was a case of déjà vu all over again in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday night. In their second consecutive US Open quarterfinal contest, No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka took on No. 7 seed Zheng Qinwen.
At the 2023 US Open, Sabalenka beat the 21-year-old Chinese player in two economical sets, 6-1, 6-4.
New year, similar story: In an entirely one-sided match, Sabalenka overpowered Zheng to grab the win—along with a ticket to the semifinals—6-1, 6-2.
Between then and now, Sabalenka beat Zheng in the Melbourne final to win her second consecutive Australian Open title. But at the Olympic Games in Paris—an event Sabalenka skipped—the Chinese champ took the gold medal. So there’s history between the two women. And their contests have been played on the world’s biggest stages.
Between then and now, Sabalenka beat Zheng in the Melbourne final to win her second consecutive Australian Open title. But at the Olympic Games in Paris—an event Sabalenka skipped—the Chinese cham took the gold medal. So there’s history between the two women. And their contests have been played on the world’s biggest stages.
The world No. 2 Sabalenka defeated the world No. 7 Zheng in a two set victory, 6-1, 6-2, converting 50% of her break point opportunities throughout the match while Zheng was not able to convert any of her break points.
Sabalenka secured 71% of her first serves in compared to Zheng who secured 44% of her first serves in.
Sabalenka won 30 points on her first serve while Zheng won 14.
Sabalenka came in as the fresher player, having dropped just one set thus far in Flushing, whereas Zheng survived three three-setters. And the 26-year-old former world No. 1 entered on a nine-match winning streak, having captured the title in Cincinnati immediately prior to the US Open.
Sabalenka found her footing first, breaking Zheng in her first service game. That the Chinese player’s service game would be a factor was supposed to have been a given: She had already racked up 49 aces this tournament. And across female players at tour-level events this year, she owns the record for the highest ace count—54 at the close of the Australian Open.
But in the first set, Zheng served poorly—and was both over-hitting and under-hitting the ball. Groundstrokes sailed, drop shots died in the net and Zheng looked both flustered and frustrated. At 35 minutes, Sabalenka took the first set, 6-1.
Serving down a break at 2-0 in the second set, Zheng managed to snap Sabalenka’s five-game winning streak. But when the match turned an hour old, Zheng had hit only eight winners to 18 errors and had slid to a 1-4 deficit. On the other side of the net, Sabalenka was cruising—and never gave up another game. At 71 minutes, she took the second set, 6-2, and the match.
WHAT IT MEANS: Sabalenka’s semifinal opponent is a known quantity: Emma Navarro, the tournament’s breakout American star, beat Paula Badosa earlier in the day, 6-2, 7-5. The two women have split wins across their two encounters. Sabalenka defeated Navarro in the fourth round this year at Roland Garros, but lost to the American at Indian Wells last year.
In her on-court interview, she allowed that Thursday’s crowd might well be backing Navarro. Laughing, she had this to say: “Drinks on me tonight, guys! And please give me some support in the next match.”
MATCH POINT: If the rankings hold and world No. 2 Sabalenka meets world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the finals, Sabalenka can take confidence in the fact that she was the victor in their most recent contest. In the semifinals at the Cincinnati Open, Sabalenka beat Swiatek in straight sets. Swiatek leads their head to head, though, 8-4.
