Last year’s U.S. Open runner-up, Aryna Sabalenka, looks poised to take it a step further this year after securing her spot in the quarterfinals.
Just two hours after defending champion Coco Gauff’s surprising exit in the fourth round, the Belarusian powerhouse dispatched Elise Mertens to reach the last eight.
With few players in the draw capable of matching Sabalenka’s hard-court dominance, she stands as the clear favorite to clinch her third Grand Slam title.
“I really enjoy playing here,” she said. “The crowd is amazing. I really enjoy playing in these big stadiums and feeling all the support.
“I just don’t want to leave early here. I want to stay as long as I can and enjoy this beautiful court.
“I think that’s why I’m consistently here.”
On Louis Armstrong Stadium, a back-in-form Paula Badosa beat China’s Yafan Wang to book her second Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance.
The Spanish star revealed she had contemplated retiring earlier this year after a back injury saw her miss out on competing in the second half of 2023.
The hiatus saw the New York-born player drop from a ranking of No. 2 in the world to outside the top 50.
She found it hard on her return to the sport and, amid a run of poor results earlier this summer, considered a life away from the game.
“There were some moments I was thinking about it,” she said. “Like in the clay court season when I was losing very early in the tournaments, and I was like, ‘Wow, what can I do now?’
“For me, tennis doesn’t make sense if I’m not at the top. I want to play on big stages. I want to play the last rounds of every tournament. I want to be one of the best players in the world.”
“But in the end, I always had this small part of me that had faith in myself, this belief that I could come back.”
She will meet American Emma Navarro, who ended Gauff’s title defense.
Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng won a rematch of her gold-medal clash with Donna Vekic.
Zheng was victorious in straight sets in Paris just a few weeks ago, but this was a war of attrition that went late into the night.
In the latest finish to a women’s match ever at the U.S. Open, Zheng finally won 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 6-2 at 2:16 a.m.
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