NEW YORK — Qinwen Zheng beat Donna Vekic in a rematch of their Olympic last, advancing to the US Open quarterfinals with a 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-2 victory early Monday morning within the newest end of a ladies’s match in event historical past.
It was 2:15 a.m. when the No. 7-seeded Zheng completed off the match that lasted 2 hours, 50 minutes, a far harder and longer check than she acquired from Vekic final month in Paris.
Zheng received China’s first singles gold in tennis with a 6-2, 6-3 victory that day. She wasn’t fairly as dominant on the US Open’s exhausting courts, the place Vekic feels way more comfy than the clay at Roland Garros.
However Zheng continues to be a lot robust to beat on exhausting courts, having reached her first Grand Slam last this yr on the Australian Open, the place she misplaced to Aryna Sabalenka.
“I really feel actually pleased with myself as a result of it isn’t simple altering surfaces from clay to exhausting, particularly as a result of I went again to China, so I haven’t got the identical apply like all the opposite gamers,” Zheng stated. “So, mainly, I am simply attempting to carry myself, discover a option to get the match, even when I am not feeling at my finest.”
She’s going to play once more in opposition to Sabalenka, the No. 2 seed who additionally beat Zheng final yr within the quarters at Flushing Meadows on her option to the ultimate, on Tuesday.
Zheng stated she’ll be prepared — so long as she will get eight or 9 hours of sleep after lastly getting again to the lodge.
“I actually wish to play in opposition to her, and I am wanting ahead to taking part in in opposition to her,” Zheng stated of Sabalenka. “I do know she’s one of many best gamers on exhausting courts, and I have been hoping for this second.”
Vekic was coming off her finest lead to a Grand Slam, reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon. However the No. 24 seed knew she missed an opportunity to go even deeper at Flushing Meadows.
She ceaselessly took lengthy pauses in frustration after lacking a shot, sometimes tugging at her hair or resting her head in her hand.
The Croatian participant broke Zheng to win the second set and even the match, driving Zheng again with some blistering returns earlier than utilizing an ideal drop shot to offer herself a set level.
However after an ace to open the third set, Vekic made two straight unforced errors, and Zheng broke her. Zheng then broke once more at love for a 5-2 lead in entrance of the sparse crowd that had caught round previous 2 a.m.
The earlier newest end for a ladies’s match was 2:13 a.m., when Maria Sakkari beat Bianca Andreescu in a 2021 fourth-round match.
