2023 US Open Quarter-Final Preview - Aryna Sabalenka v Qinwen Zheng

Wednesday, 06 September 2023 at 16:07

Aryna Sabalenka will take on Qinwen Zheng in the quarter-finals of the 2023 US Open today, Wednesday, September 6.

Second seed Sabalenka has been a dominant force so far at Flushing Meadows and is yet to drop a single set. In fact, her last two matches saw her lose only one game in each of the openers. Therefore, it is little surprise that she moved to the quarter-finals with ease after defeating thirteenth seed Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-3.

This comes after the Belarusian had to come to terms with the thrilling prospect of becoming World No. 1 in the WTA Ranking for the first time in her career after Iga Swiatek crashed out in the Round of 16. Although she admitted that she was worried it would distract her during her fourth-round match, the 25-year-old was ultimately able to stay focused.

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Meanwhile, Zheng took everyone by surprise when she dominated her match against the 2022 US Open runner-up Ons Jabeur. The pair met in the Round of 16, where Zheng beat the fifth seed in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, to make the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time.

This comes after a successful season for the Chinese player in which she won her first WTA title at the 2023 Palermo Ladies Open.

Sabalenka's consistency could give her the edge

The two players have never faced each other before, so it will be interesting to see how their abilities match up. Both are big hitters, and Zheng is likely to have taken a lot of confidence from her victory over Jabeur as it served as proof of her ability to defeat some of the highest-ranked players.

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However, Sabalenka has a lot more experience at this stage of a Grand Slam, having won the Australian Open earlier this year. Moreover, her serve is more solid than Zheng's and even when it does play up, she has shown herself to be better at defending against other powerful hitters.

Prediction: Aryna Sabalenka to win in straight sets.

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Qinwen Zheng will take on Aryna Sabalenka in the US Open Quarterfinals Zheng should be a much tougher challenge for Aryna than Kasatkina was tonight, probably won't be able to control every point like she did tonight.