Sabalenka soars past Zheng to reach fourth consecutive US Open semi-final
Aryna Sabalenka made quick work of Qinwen Zheng to reach the US Open semi-finals on Tuesday. Emma Navarro is next up for the world No 2.
Aryna Sabalenka, US Open 2024 – © Chryslène Caillaud / Panoramic
It’s going to be difficult to stop Aryna Sabalenka at the 2024 US Open.
Add Qinwen Zheng to the list of opponents who have not come close to stopping her so far in New York. Sabalenka rolled into the semi-finals with a 6-1, 6-2 blowout of the Paris Olympics gold medalist on Tuesday night. The Belarusian needed only one hour and 13 minutes to set up a Thursday showdown against Emma Navarro.
“It’s a very important win,” Sabalenka assured. ” It wasn’t that easy as the score looks, and she’s a great player. I’m really happy to win this match in two sets, and I’m really happy with the level I played today. It was (a) great performance.”
IN REMATCH OF AUSTRALIAN OPEN FINAL, SABALENKA ROUTS ZHENG AGAIN
Sabalenka and Zheng had squared off on two previous occasions and both matches were one-way in the world No 2’s favor. She beat the Chinese underdog 6-1, 6-4 at the 2023 US Open (also in the quarter-finals) and 6-3, 6-2 in this year’s Australian Open championship match.
There was never any doubt that Tuesday’s contest would be any different. Sabalenka took control right from the start, racing to a 3-0 lead in the opening set and breaking again for 5-1. The 26-year-old broke immediately in set two and it was all but over when she earned another scalp of the Zheng serve for 4-1.
Sabalenka eventually converted her second match point while serving at 5-2, ad-in.
“I just think the next time I play against her maybe I should hold a rally better and play a little bit more relaxed,” Zheng assessed. “Because today obviously I [went] into the match with a lot of nerves. Of course she’s aggressive, but I can see she’s missing the ball sometimes…. But I do feel it was better than the last two times, even (if) the last two times [had a] better score.”
