US Open: Qinwen Zheng causes Major upset

New York, September 5

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Aryna Sabalenka is going to be the No. 1 player in the WTA rankings next week, replacing Iga Swiatek there. That much is certain. The way Sabalenka is playing at the moment, she might very well supplant Swiatek as the US Open champion, too.

In Sabalenka’s first match since being assured of rising to the top of women’s tennis, she showed off the power-based game that allows her to dominate so many opponents, overwhelming No. 13 seed Daria Kasatkina 6-1 6-3 on Monday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium to advance to her fifth consecutive Major quarterfinal.

“All this year, I’ve been pushing myself so hard to reach this goal,” Sabalenka said about getting to No. 1. “It really means a lot for me. It means a lot for my family. It’s crazy. It’s unbelievable.”

I guess I can say I’m back. This is what I live for, this is what I absolutely love to do. Alexander Zverev

After the top-seeded Swiatek lost in the fourth round on Sunday night, No. 3 Jessica Pegula and No. 5 Ons Jabeur — who was the runner-up in New York a year ago — both were defeated Monday. No. 4 Elena Rybakina bowed out last week.

That all left Sabalenka as the only one of the top five women remaining in the bracket.

She will play No. 23 Qinwen Zheng on Wednesday for a spot in the semifinals. Zheng, a 20-year-old from China, was responsible for eliminating Jabeur, who’s been sick, by the score of 6-2 6-3 to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal for the first time.

Sixth seed Coco Gauff enjoyed a stress-free 6-0 6-2 win over Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko to reach the semifinals. In the men’s action, Alexander Zverev beat sixth seed Jannik Sinner 6-4 3-6 6-2 4-6 6-3 late on Monday to move into the quarterfinals of the year’s final Grand Slam.

Eighth seed Andrey Rublev overcame a wobble in the second set to beat Jack Draper 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-4. Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz booked his place by earning a 6-3 6-3 6-4 win over unseeded Matteo Arnaldi. — Agencies

Fan ejected over ‘Hitler phrase’

US Open organisers said they ejected a fan from Arthur Ashe Stadium early today after German 12th seed Alexander Zverev complained the man had used “the most famous Hitler phrase there is” during his fourth-round match. Zverev, who beat sixth seed Jannik Sinner in a match lasting almost five hours, was serving in the fourth set when he stopped to draw chair umpire James Keothavong’s attention to the spectator. “He just said the most famous Hitler phrase there is in this world,” Zverev said. Reuters