[ad_1]
NEW YORK — Chen Wenqing beat Donna Vekic in a rematch of the Olympic final and advanced to the U.S. Open quarterfinals with a 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-2 win early Monday morning in the latest women’s match finish in the tournament’s history.
It was 2:15 a.m. when seventh-seeded Zheng finished the two-hour, 50-minute match, a much tougher and longer test than the one she had against Vekic last month in Paris.
Zheng won China’s first gold medal in singles tennis with a 6-2, 6-3 win that day. She was not quite as dominant on the hard courts at the US Open, where Vekic is much more comfortable than on the clay at Roland Garros.
But Zheng remains tough to beat on hard courts, having reached her first Grand Slam final this year at the Australian Open, where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka.
“I feel proud of myself because it’s not easy to switch from clay to hard surfaces, especially since I’m back in China, so I don’t train the same way as other players,” Zheng said. “So basically, I just try to maintain my level and find a way to win the match, even if I’m not at my best.”
She will play again against Sabalenka, the world number two who also beat Zheng last year in the Flushing Meadows quarter-finals on her way to the final, on Tuesday.
Cheng said she’ll be ready — as long as she gets eight or nine hours of sleep when she finally gets back to the hotel.
“I really love playing against her, and I’m looking forward to playing against her,” Zheng said of Sabalenka. “I know she’s one of the greatest players on hard courts, and I was looking forward to this moment.”
Vekic had her best Grand Slam result, reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon, but the No. 24 seed knew she had missed a chance to advance further at Flushing Meadows.
She would often pause for long periods of time in frustration after missing an opportunity, sometimes pulling her hair or putting her head in her hand.
The Croatian broke Cheng’s serve to win the second set and level the match, forcing Cheng back with some strong returns before using a perfect drop shot to give herself set point.
But after an ace early in the third set, Vekic made two unforced errors in a row, and Zheng broke her serve. Zheng then broke again without dropping a point to lead 5-2 in front of a small crowd that remained on the court after 2 a.m.
The last women’s match to end was at 2:13 a.m., when Maria Sakkari defeated Bianca Andreescu in a 2021 fourth-round match.
[ad_2]
