New York | It’s a Sabalenka – Zheng showdown in the quarter-finals

In Sunday’s night session matches, World No 2 Aryna Sabalenka eased past Elise Mertens to reach her 4th US Open quarter-final in a row, where she will meet Zheng Qinwen, the 7th seed who fought past Donna Vekic in a repeat of the Olympic Tennis Final in Paris.

I think she [Donna Vekic] performs better on hard court compared to clay. Her ball is very flat. If you are not used to it it’s very difficult to control. She was serving very well. It was tough to break her in the beginning of the match. It was a competitive match, and I’m really happy to hold the pressure and get this match.” Zheng Qinwen

Sabalenka took down Mertens, the No 33 seed from Belgium, 6-2 6-4, in 97 minutes on Louis Armstrong Stadium, while Zheng, playing on Arthur Ashe Stadium, needed 2 hours and 50 minutes to see off Vekic, the 24th seed from Croatia, 7-6(2) 4-6 6-2, in a record late finish for a women’s match.

The early Monday morning finish was 2 minutes later than the old record of 2.13am from 2021, when Maria Sakkari beat Bianca Andreescu in a Last 16 contest.

Sabalenka, last year’s US Open runner-up, posted semi-final results in New York City in both 2021 and 2022, becoming the first woman to make 4 consecutive US Open quarter-finals since Serena Williams made 6 in a row between 2011 and 2016.

“The crowds are amazing,” Sabalenka said, reflecting on her run of success in Flushing Meadows. “I really enjoy playing on these big stadiums, feel all the support. I just don’t want to leave early here, you know. I just want to stay as long as I can, and enjoy this beautiful court, beautiful atmosphere.”

Sabalenka and Mertens are friends, having been a formidable doubles team in the past, winning 2 Grand Slam titles together, at the 2019 US Open and 2021 Australian Open.

“I know her quite well, and we’ve played a lot of great battles against each other,” Sabalenka said of the Belgian. “It’s never easy facing her. She’s a really tricky opponent. You know she’s going to fight. I was just trying to stay aggressive, and put her under pressure tonight. That match wasn’t an easy one.”

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On this occasion, though, the Belarusian slammed 41 winners to power her way Mertens, having quickly set the tempo after breaking the Belgian in the first game of the opening set.

Sabalenka dominated, coming into net 11 times and winning 10 of those points, 91%, while she produced 18 winners to Mertens’ 5 in the opener.

Initially, the Belgian was not able to handle the power and pace of Sabalenka’s aggressive baseline game, and could not get herself back on serve.

Leading 4-2, Sabalenka confidently broke again to love, increasing her lead to 5-2, but had to save 2 break points in the 8th game before serving out the set, which took 34 minutes, pounding 18 winners in the opener.

The second proved to be more competitive as Mertens began to put more balls in play and hold serve, but, at 2-2, Sabalenka broke for a 3rd time, blasting a down-the line-forehand winner on break point.

Later in the set, crucially, Sabalenka fought back from 0-40 and won 5 straight points to hold serve for a 5-3 lead.

Although, Mertens held in the next game to stay in the match, the Belarusian served out the match in the 10th game to book her quarter-final spot.

“I’m really glad that I was able to stay focused. [Mertens] played unbelievable tennis, especially in the second set. It was really tight,” Sabalenka said after her straight-sets win. “Every game was back and forth. It could have gone one way or another. I’m really happy with this win. It was a high-quality match.”

Sabalenka, who did not drop serve, saved all 8 break points she faced against Mertens, and now holds an 8-2 career head-to-head record against the Belgian.

Playing in her 7th career US Open, Sabalenka improves her record at Flushing Meadows to 25-6, while her latest win marks her 27th hard-court match-win this year.

Only Emma Navarro, with 29, and Iga Swiatek, with 28, have won more tour-level hard-court matches in 2024.

Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen won a very tight contest with Silver medallist Donna Vekic in the early hours of Monday morning in New York

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In the quarter-finals, Sabalenka now takes on the winner of the Paris Olympics final rematch, No 7 seed Zheng Qinwen of China, who took down 24th-seeded Donna Vekic of Croatia in 3 sets in the early hours of Monday morning.

“I like to play in the night session. Here in New York it’s my first time,” said Zheng in front of a few hundred hardy fans on Ashe.

It is 21-year old Zheng’s 2nd quarter-final appearance here at Flushing Meadows, only the second Chinese woman to appear in two quarter-finals in New York after Li Na in 2009 and 2013.

On the hard courts of the US Open, it was a much tighter contest than on the clay of Paris, with Zheng executing a punishing baseline game, making this round of 16 contest a very physical one.

“I think she performs better on hard court compared to clay. Her ball is very flat,” Zheng said after the match. “If you are not used to it it’s very difficult to control. She was serving very well. It was tough to break her in the beginning of the match.

“It was a competitive match, and I’m really happy to hold the pressure and get this match.”

When they met in the Gold medal match in Paris, Zheng rolled to a 6-2 6-3 win over Vekic, the Croatian finding no answers on the clay, where the Chinese has won 3 of her 4 titles, but it was a different story on the hard courts at Arthur Ashe Stadium, and for those who stayed late, it certainly was one to remember.

“She’s really tough to play on a hard court,” Zheng said of her opponent post-match. “Today she put a lot of pressure [on me], she hit really aggressive, so congratulations to her on her result. But it was a really nice victory for me. Thanks to all the fans who are not sleeping here in New York.”

Donna Vekic pushed Zheng Qinwen hard but lost in 3 sets in a repeat of the Olympic final on Sunday

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The difference between them was tiny in the first set, as neither lost serve during the entire frame, and they combined for a mere 13 unforced errors through the first 12 games.

Then Vekic began missing in the tight moments during the tiebreak, and Zheng ran away with the set to close it by a 7-2 margin.

Despite an early trade of breaks in the second, the rest of the set played out with neither woman budging on serve, until Zheng found herself staring at a backhand winner from Vekic on set point to give the Croatian the break, and send the match into a third set.

An opening break for the Chinese put her in the driver’s seat quickly at the start of the decider, and, as Vekic’s game began to crack, a second break of serve to love gave the World No 7 a 5-2 lead.

Serving for the match on her 2nd match point, Zheng clinched the win on a netted return by Vekic.

Through 4 wins in New York, Zheng is averaging more than 10 aces per match, and has fired a total 48 aces, more than double of anyone remaining in the field.

Her first serve has been particularly devastating, winning 80% of the points when it lands in, while she has been broken just 8 times.

“I feel really proud of myself because it’s not easy changing surfaces from clay to hard,” Zheng said. “And especially because I went back to China, so I didn’t have the same practice as other players. So basically I”m just trying to hold myself, and try to get the match, even if I’m not feeling at my best. But I start to feel better and better.”

Zheng has a tough task in facing a confident and in-form Sabalenka next, and the World No 2 has beaten her in their two prior meetings, including here, at the same stage last year.