After demonstrating her strength, future world number one Aryna Sabalenka is increasingly focusing on her second Grand Slam triumph. The 25-year-old from Belarus left no doubt about the winner in her 6-1, 6-4 quarter-final win against the Chinese Zheng Qinwen on Wednesday.
Sabalenka, who celebrated her first major title in Melbourne in the spring and then reached the semifinals in Paris and Wimbledon, now meets Wimbledon winner Marketa Vondrousova from the Czech Republic or the American Madison Keys in the semi-finals without losing a set. After the tournament in New York, she replaces the Pole Iga Swiatek, who was at the top of the world rankings for 75 weeks. Swiatek had failed in the round of 16.
Sabalenka maintained her impressive quarterfinal record at Grand Slams with her win against Zheng. She made all seven appearances in the round of eight successfully. Zheng missed out on becoming the third Chinese woman to reach the semifinals in New York after Peng Shuai (2014) and Li Na (2013).
In the first set, the 20-year-old found no recipe at all against her opponent’s powerful game, her weak serve rate played into Sabalenka’s cards. In the second round, Zheng improved, but it wasn’t enough.