China's Zheng Qinwen reached the US Open quarterfinals for the second consecutive time with a victory over Donna Vekic of Croatia on Monday.
Zheng Qinwen of China hits a return to Donna Vekic of Croatia during the women's singles 4th round match in New York, the United States, Sept. 1, 2024. (Xinhua/Li Rui)
The 21-year-old Chinese prospect won 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-2 against her 24th-ranked opponent, whom she also defeated in the Paris Olympics gold medal match.
"It's two o'clock in the morning, it's incredible. Thanks to the fans who have stayed to support me," said Zheng.
Zheng will next face world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated her in the Australian Open final in January.
Another Chinese player, Wang Yafan, lost to Spain's Paula Badosa 6-1, 6-2 in the fourth round.
Defending champion Coco Gauff fell to her American teammate Emma Navarro 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the fourth round.
"I gave it my all. Obviously there were things execution-wise, where I was like, I wish I could serve better. I think if I did that, it would have been a different story," said third-ranked Gauff.
Ninth seed Grigor Dimitrov from Bulgaria cruised past Russian sixth seed Andrey Rublev, 6-3, 7-6 (3), 1-6, 3-6, 6-3 to return to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2019.
Fourth-ranked Alexander Zverev of Germany made his fourth quarterfinal by beating Brandon Nakashima of the United States, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.
