NEW YORK — Zheng Qinwen made a daring escape from a 5-0 deficit for the second straight match, with this comeback sending her back into the U.S. Open quarterfinals.
The 2024 Olympic gold medalist from China beat No. 8 seed Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-3 on Monday to become the first qualifier to reach the final eight in Flushing Meadows since Emma Raducanu won the title in 2021.
Two days after she was down 5-0 in the third set before winning the final seven games to stun No. 22 Madison Keys 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5, Zheng quickly dropped the first five games against Swiatek, the 2022 U.S. Open champion.
“I guess to come back 0-5 yesterday is not lucky, that’s all I can say,” Zheng said.
Swiatek couldn’t convert two set points serving at 5-1 and Zheng fought off another when Swiatek served with a 5-3 lead. She said she was so focused on each point that she even forgot the score.
Zheng was a U.S. Open quarterfinalist in 2023 and 2024 but after elbow surgery had to go through qualifying this year to reach the main draw. Raducanu’s title five years ago made her the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam title in the Open era, which dates to 1968.
Swiatek came in with a 7-1 record against Zheng, with the only loss two years ago in the Olympic semifinals in Paris. Zheng came back from a 4-0 deficit in the second set that day to stop Swiatek’s 25-match winning streak at Roland Garros, where she has won four French Open titles.
Zheng will play either two-time champion Naomi Osaka or No. 2 Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals.
French Open champion Mirra Andreeva came back to beat No. 24 Anastasia Potapova 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 and the No. 5 seed will face either No. 4 Coco Gauff or No. 14 Iva Jovic. The two Americans meet Monday night in the opening match of the night session.
Top-seeded Alexander Zverev was in action Monday night against No. 21 Luciano Darderi, while No. 14 Learner Tien tried to give the host country four men in the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the first time since 1995 when he faced Karen Khachanov. No. 8 Ben Shelton, No. 11 Frances Tiafoe and Alex Michelsen all advanced Sunday, along with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Swiatek got treatment on her left thigh in the second set after she held serve for a 2-1 lead. She said the injury didn’t have much impact on the match, and in reality, her problems came much earlier when she let the first set slip away.
“I never judge that I’m going to have a lot of time. That’s why I usually am able to close the set with a pretty straightforward score,” Swiatek said, explaining that she is usually “just pushing and being intense all the time.”
Monday sportsmanship: Andreeva remembers looking up to Potapova well before they became rivals on the court.
So when Potapova fell and was injured late in their fourth-round match Monday at the U.S. Open, Andreeva put aside the tennis and went to assist.
The French Open champion helped Potapova up so she could get treatment, then finished off a 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 victory that sent her to the quarterfinals in Flushing Meadows for the first time.
“It’s not the perfect end to the match,” Andreeva said.
Andreeva led 5-3 in the final set when Potapova lunged to hit a running forehand and went down holding her left knee. As Potapova sat on the court in pain, the 19-year-old Russian came from the other side of the net and rested her hand on the 25-year-old’s shoulder.
She helped the No. 24 seed up and Potapova was able to limp to her bench, where Andreeva asked if someone could bring her ice. Potapova was treated and eventually able to continue with her knee bandaged, though with limited movement she didn’t win another point and didn’t even attempt to get Andreeva’s final shot.
Potapova appeared to be tearing up as Andreeva came around the net for a long embrace after the final point.
Potapova now represents Austria, but she was born in Russia and still played under that flag when she won the junior Wimbledon championship in 2016.
“For me, Nastya, she was always like a prodigy,” Andreeva said. “She came on tour early. She also had a lot of wins. I also remember we were all watching and cheering for her when she won juniors Wimbledon title. I remember watching that match. For me, she was always, like, a little star that I was kind of always looking at.”
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