NEW YORK (AP) — Elena Rybakina overpowered Naomi Osaka at the U.S. Open and is a win away from the No. 1 ranking in women's tennis.
She just has to beat Zheng Qinwen, which won't be easy. Even when Zheng goes down — way, way down — she refuses to stay there.
Rybakina advanced to the quarterfinals Monday with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Osaka in a matchup of power-hitting Grand Slam champions. The No. 2-seeded Rybakina is guaranteed to replace Aryna Sabalenka
atop the WTA rankings if she reaches the semifinals in Flushing Meadows.
“Of course I want it, I don't know anyone who wouldn’t wish this, but definitely that’s one of my goals,” Rybakina said. “I try to approach the same way, try to do everything I can, fight until the end my next match and let’s see what’s going to happen.”
Trying to stop her will be Zheng, who made a daring escape from a 5-0 deficit for the second straight match. The 2024 Olympic gold medalist from China beat No. 8 seed Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-3 to become the first qualifier to reach the final eight in Flushing Meadows since Emma Raducanu won the title in 2021.
Two days after she was down 5-0 in the third set before winning the final seven games to stun No. 22 Madison Keys 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5, Zheng quickly dropped the first five games against Swiatek, the 2022 U.S. Open champion.
“I guess to come back 0-5 yesterday is not lucky, that’s all I can say,” Zheng said.
Rybakina won the Australian Open this year for her second major title and her No. 2 ranking is her career best. Even if she loses Wednesday, she can still get to No. 1 if neither Sabalenka, Coco Gauff or Jessica Pegula wins the title.
Rybakina was too good for Osaka, who won two of her four Grand Slam titles at the U.S. Open. The match lasted just 1 hour, 6 minutes, with Rybakina closing it out with an ace. She leads the WTA Tour in that category.
Swiatek couldn't convert two set points serving at 5-1 and Zheng fought off another when Swiatek served with a 5-3 lead. She said she was so focused on each point that she even forgot the score.
Zheng was a U.S. Open quarterfinalist in 2023 and 2024 — the year she reached the Australian Open final — but after her ranked dropped following elbow surgery she had to go through qualifying this year to reach the main draw. Raducanu's title five years ago made her the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam title in the Open era, which dates to 1968.
Swiatek came in with a 7-1 record against Zheng, with the only loss two years ago in the Olympic semifinals in Paris. Zheng came back from a 4-0 deficit in the second set that day to stop Swiatek’s 25-match winning streak at Roland Garros, where she has won four French Open titles.
French Open champion Mirra Andreeva came back to beat No. 24 Anastasia Potapova 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, after helping her opponent when she injured her knee in the final game of the match. The No. 5 seed will face either No. 4 Coco Gauff or No. 14 Iva Jovic. The two Americans meet Monday night in the opening match of the night session.
Top-seeded Alexander Zverev was in action Monday night against No. 21 Luciano Darderi, while No. 14 Learner Tien tried to give the host country four men in the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the first time since 1995 when he faced Karen Khachanov. No. 8 Ben Shelton, No. 11 Frances Tiafoe and Alex Michelsen all advanced Sunday, along with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Swiatek got treatment on her left thigh in the second set after she held serve for a 2-1 lead. She said the injury didn't have much impact on the match, and in reality, her problems came much earlier when she let the first set slip away.
“I never judge that I’m going to have a lot of time. That’s why I usually am able to close the set with a pretty straightforward score,” Swiatek said, explaining that she is usually “just pushing and being intense all the time.”
“But today, I wouldn’t say it had anything to do with mentality,” she added. “It was more that I started making mistakes from easy balls and Qinwen stopped doing mistakes. She played the balls better.”
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