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NOW PLAYING • NZ Herald Sport Headlines | Tuesday, September 8, 2026
NZ Herald Sport Headlines | Tuesday, September 8, 2026. Video / NZ Herald
Zheng Qinwen pulled off another US Open stunner, rallying to beat Iga Swiatek and reach the quarter-finals as Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff advanced.
It was one more gritty win for Zheng, the Paris Olympics gold medallist and a former world number 4 now ranked 121st after struggling in the wake of elbow surgery last year.
Zheng had won the last seven games, saving a match point as she shocked Madison Keys in her previous match.
After falling behind 5-0 in the first set against six-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek, she again reeled off seven straight.
She then broke Swiatek twice in the second set to clinch the win.
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Swiatek, who fell to Zheng in the gold-medal match in Paris two years ago, left the Arthur Ashe Stadium in tears.
“I guess to come back from 0-5 is not lucky, that’s all I can say,” Zheng said after becoming the first qualifier or lucky loser to beat Swiatek at a Grand Slam.
Zheng said it took her some time to settle in on the cavernous Ashe court, noting it’s been “a long, long time” since she had been scheduled on a main show court.
DATE . 8/Sep/2026