Zheng Qinwen rallies past Madison Keys to reach US Open fourth round

Zheng Qinwen overturned a first-set loss to eliminate No. 22 Madison Keys in a three-set match, 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5, on Saturday at the US Open. The Chinese player, a 2024 Olympic gold medalist who entered the tournament through qualifying after elbow surgery, said she focused on holding each point and gradually turned the tide.

"I’m just telling myself keep holding every single point, never give up, stay there and somehow little by little it just happened," Zheng said.

Keys, who had previously saved five match points in the prior round, expressed frustration after the defeat.

"I feel like I obviously got off to a really good lead, and then I just got really — I mean, got really scared, like I couldn’t swing," Keys said.

In the women's draw, 13th seed Naomi Osaka also advanced, defeating Elise Mertens 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 after rallying from a 4-2 deficit in the third set. Osaka admitted to feeling negative during the match but persisted.

"I didn’t feel like I played amazing, and it was really getting me down. I was very negative on myself," she said.

Men’s results saw No. 9 seed Taylor Fritz lose a two-set lead to No. 24 Francisco Cerundolo, falling 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. Fritz could not explain the reversal.

"I don’t know how I let that happen today," he said.

Other upsets included No. 10 seed Amanda Anisimova’s loss to No. 24 Anastasia Potapova, 6-2, 7-5, and No. 5 Flavio Cobolli’s defeat by No. 28 Alexander Blockx. Potapova, representing Austria, will meet No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva in the next round.

Coco Gauff, the 2023 US Open champion, moved past Cristina Bucsa 6-3, 6-4 and will face 18-year-old Iva Jovic, who defeated Alex Eala 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 in a three-hour match.

"Honestly, I feel like I’m definitely used to getting to Week 2s now," Gauff said.

Top-seeded Alexander Zverev continued his run, beating Alejandro Tabilo 6-2, 7-6 (2), 6-2 in the night session.