By Amy Tennery and Janina Nuno Rios
NEW YORK, Sept 7 (Reuters) – Elena Rybakina outclassed former U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka 6-1 6-4 on Monday to reach the quarter-finals, while China’s Zheng Qinwen mounted another extraordinary fightback to upset six-times major winner Iga Swiatek.
Two-times major winner Rybakina will face Olympic champion Zheng in the quarter-finals and is now one win away from becoming world number one for the first time.
The Japanese 13th seed Osaka struggled to cope with the Kazakh’s power, hampered by an Achilles tendon injury that had flared up in the previous round.
Zheng has become Flushing Meadows’ most entertaining escape artist this year, coming back from a 0-5 deficit in the deciding set against third-round foe Madison Keys.
She let the first five games slip through her fingers in 20 minutes against the 2022 champion Swiatek before digging in, and she collapsed to the court with her face in her hands after sealing the win on the fourth match point.
The Chinese is the first qualifier since Emma Raducanu in 2021 to reach the quarter-finals of the women’s draw, as she battles back from a chronic elbow injury that had stunted her career.
Mirra Andreeva’s entertaining match against Anastasia Potapova ended on a sour note as the Austrian went down injured in the final game.
Potapova valiantly retook the court but could not hold off the inevitable as Andreeva sealed the 5-7 6-4 6-3 win with a backhand strike before going across the net to hug her opponent.
In the men’s draw, Belgium’s Alexander Blockx continued his breakout run, dispatching Argentine 24th seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-3 4-6 7-5 7-5 to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final.
GAUFF, ZVEREV HIGHLIGHT EVENING PROGRAMME
The evening action in New York features 2023 champion Coco Gauff in an all-American clash against teenage sensation Iva Jovic, before French Open champion Alexander Zverev takes on Luciano Darderi.
Italian Darderi beat Zverev at the Rome Masters earlier this year, and he’ll be aiming to repeat that upset when he faces the top men’s seed in the night’s opening match on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Closing out the evening at Louis Armstrong Stadium, American Learner Tien takes on Russian Karen Khachanov, hoping to join compatriots Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe and Alex Michelsen in the last eight.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery and Janina Nuno Rios in New YorkEditing by Christian Radnedge)
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