US Open: Sabalenka dispatches Zheng with ease to move into third straight US Open semi-final

Aryna Sabalenka swatted aside the challenge of rising Chinese talent Qinwen Zheng to win 6-1, 6-4 and reach her third straight US Open semi-final.

The Belarusian was far too strong for Zheng, who was making her first appearance in a Grand Slam quarter-final.

As searing midday heat and high humidity continues to grip Flushing Meadows, Sabalenka looked motivated to get the job done quickly and efficiently as she put on a clinical display of controlled aggression to overwhelm her opponent in just 73 minutes.

Sabalenka supreme in hot and humid conditions

The first set quickly became something of a procession, with Sabalenka breaking twice to move rapidly into an almost unassailable 5-0 lead.

Qinwen Zheng, to her credit, steadied the ship by holding serve to earn her first game of the match, before Sabalenka served out the opener to take it 6-1.

The second was a closer contest, with Zheng looking as though she’d steadied some of the nerves that affected her in the first as she tidied up her service games.

The set went of serve until the seventh game, when Zheng could keep the advancing Sabalenka at bay no longer, the Belarusian clinching the pivotal break and then consolidating for a 4-3 lead.

At 5-3 and a set down, Zheng could have easily crumbled. But the 20-year-old – playing in her first Grand Slam quarter-final in one of the biggest stages in the sport – was resolute on serve, saving a match point and proceeding to earn a commendable hold under extreme pressure to make the second seed serve out the win.

But Sabalenka, who will be crowned the new world No 1 next week, showed no signs of weakness on her approach to the finish line.

Despite the best returning efforts of Zheng, the Belarusian served out the final game with relatively little difficulty to reach her fifth successive Grand Slam semi-final and her third in a row at the US Open.

A task too far for Qinwen Zheng as experience proves key

The gulf in experience between the two was stark, with Sabalenka’s ice-cool professionalism the defining factor in a straightforward win.

For Zheng, it was always going to be a mammoth task to dislodge the Australian Open champion and second seed in her first ever last-eight showing at a major.

Despite the result, Zheng showed courage to make the second competitive when others would have folded. She will take many lessons from today’s encounter, and will be a stronger player because of it, after a breakthrough run in New York this year.

Sabalenka, meanwhile, is in imperious form. The nature of this victory sends an ominous statement of intent to the rest of the remaining field, as the new world No 1-in-waiting looks eager mark her coronation as the world’s best by also taking the crown at the US Open.

“I think I’ve definitely played great tennis today… Super happy with the performance tonight,” Sabalenka said in her on-court interview.

“Of course, I am happy [about becoming world No 1], but I have some things to do in New York this year.

“So, I am trying to focus on my game and I will think about being the world No1 after the US Open.”

A plethora of compelling storylines await in the final few days at Flushing Meadows

It could hardly be a more appropriate setting for the Belarusian, who will take some stopping in New York.

Sabalenka’s storyline at this year’s tournament is just one of a number of compelling narratives as Flushing Meadows heads towards its conclusion.

Coco Gauff has had an undeniable aura about her this year, following her titles in Washington and – more significantly – Montreal in the build-up to the final major of the season.

Playing in her home slam at a time when she seems to have come of age on the big stage, one could make a justifiable argument that a first Grand Slam title is written in the stars for Coco Gauff.

However, the final chapter of Sabalenka’s unfolding storyline also feels as though it is destined to be written as the Belarusian seeks to cap off a stellar breakthrough season with the most appropriate of endings.

Muchova, the supremely talented yet oft-injured Czech also has her claims to a Cinderella story, while Madison Keys – former finalist and another home hope – and Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova would be worthy winners.

Indeed, Keys and Vondrousova will do battle under the lights tonight for the right to face Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-final.

As another US Open championships begins to come to a conclusion, a myriad of fascinating narratives will once again converge until one story reads clear.

New York is set for another truly compelling final few days of drama and heartbreak at Flushing Meadows.

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New York (Grand Slam), other last 8 results (USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, hard, USD 44.700.000, most recent results first):

• Marketa Vondrousova vs. Madison Keys
• Karolina Muchova (10) beat Sorana Cirstea (30): 6-0, 6-3
• Coco Gauff (6) beat Jelena Ostapenko (20): 6-0, 6-2