New York (AFP) – Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen rallied from 0-5 down in the final set to stun Madison Keys on Saturday and reach the US Open last 16 as 2025 finalist Amanda Anisimova was knocked out. Zheng saved a match point in a storming finish against 22nd-ranked Keys on a day when men’s top seed Alexander Zverev is again due to close out the night session, taking on Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo. In two five-set matches, both spilling into the early hours of the morning, the German has already spent nine hours and 26 minutes on court.
Zverev says he feels fine physically, but he knows he will have to play better if he wants to add a second Grand Slam title to the French Open trophy he captured this year. In 25th-seeded Tabilo, he will face a player out for revenge — the Chilean fell to Zverev in the second round at Flushing Meadows last year. With Zverev waiting in the wings, Zheng provided plenty of daytime drama with her 1-6, 7-6 (7/3), 7-5 triumph over Keys.
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After coming through the second-set tiebreaker, Zheng appeared to be out of steam in the final set. The former world number four had to come through qualifying after a lengthy recovery from an elbow injury saw her ranking plummet. Keys took charge with an early break and broke Zheng again for a 4-0 lead in a game the Chinese player had led 40-0. Keys held for a 5-0 lead, but Zheng had a last stand in her. She saved match point at 5-1 and just kept rolling. “I just told myself, keep holding every single point, never give up, stay there. And somehow little by little it just happened,” she said.
Zheng, currently ranked 121st in the world, will face either six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek or Czech Marie Bouzkova for a place in the quarter-finals. She is the first qualifier to reach the US Open women’s singles fourth round since Emma Raducanu — who went on to win the title in 2021.
Anastasia Potapova reached the US Open fourth round for the first time, twice recovering a break in the second set to topple 10th-seeded Anisimova 6-2, 7-5. For Potapova, it is the continuance of a resurgence which has her back inside the top 25 in the world rankings, less than six months after she had fallen to 97th.
Other top players due in action include former women’s champions Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, and Naomi Osaka, along with reigning Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina, who is ranked second. French Open runner-up Flavio Cobolli, the fifth seed, takes on Alexander Blockx, the big-serving Belgian seeking to avenge a narrow loss to the Italian in Cincinnati last month. Australian wild card Dane Sweeny, coming off an upset of 13th-seeded Lorenzo Musetti, takes on 21st-seeded Italian Luciano Darderi with a possible showdown with Zverev looming for the winner.
© 2024 AFP
