NEW YORK – Qinwen Zheng defeated Donna Vekic in a rematch of the Olympic final to advance to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open with a 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-2 victory early Monday morning, the latest women’s match result in tournament history.
It was 2:15 a.m. when seventh-seeded Zheng finished the 2-hour, 50-minute match, a far tougher and longer test than the one she faced against Vekic in Paris last month.
Zheng won China’s first singles tennis gold medal that day with a 6-2, 6-3 victory. She wasn’t quite as dominant on the hard courts of the US Open, where Vekic feels much more comfortable than on the clay courts at Roland Garros.
But Zheng is hard to beat on hard courts. She reached her first Grand Slam final this year at the Australian Open, where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka.
“I’m really proud of myself because it’s not easy to change the surface from clay to hard court, especially because I’ve returned to China and I don’t have as much training as the other players,” Zheng said. “So basically I’m trying to pull myself together and find a way to win the match even if I don’t feel at my best.”
On Tuesday, she will play again against Sabalenka, the No. 2 seed who also defeated Zheng in the quarterfinals last year en route to the final at Flushing Meadows.
Zheng said she was ready – as long as she got eight or nine hours of sleep after returning to the hotel.
“I really enjoy playing against her and I’m looking forward to playing against her,” Zheng said. “I know she’s one of the best players on hard courts and I’ve been hoping for this moment.”
Vekic had just achieved her best Grand Slam result to date, reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon, but the No. 24 seed knew she had missed a chance to go further at Flushing Meadows.
After a missed shot, she would often take long, frustrated pauses, occasionally pulling at her hair or resting her head in her hand.
The Croatian managed a break against Zheng, winning the second set and leveling the match. She drove Zheng back with some brilliant returns before securing a set point for herself with a perfect drop shot.
But after an ace to start the third set, Vekic made two unforced errors in a row and Zheng broke. Zheng then broke again to take a 5-2 lead in front of the sparse crowd that stayed until after 2 a.m.
The latest finish to a women’s match so far was 2:13 a.m., when Maria Sakkari defeated Bianca Andreescu in a 2021 fourth-round match.
