Match Point

Zheng Qinwen won the last seven games to stun Madison Keys and reach the US Open last 16 on a Saturday of upsets that dented American hopes at Flushing Meadows. Zheng saved a match point in her 1-6, 7-6 (7/3), 7-5 triumph over Keys, the 2025 Australian Open champion.

After coming through the second-set tiebreaker, the Paris Olympics gold medallist appeared to be out of steam in the final set. The former world number four had to come through qualifying after a lengthy recovery from elbow surgery saw her ranking plummet. Keys raced to a 5-0 lead in the third but Zheng had a last stand in her.

"Never give up"

"I just told myself keep holding every single point, never give up, stay there. And somehow, little by little, it just happened," Zheng said. Keys' increasing frustration showed as she banged her head with her racquet after one lost point. Zheng, currently ranked 121st in the world, will face six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek for a place in the quarter-finals.

Americans were hard hit with ninth-seeded Taylor Fritz and 2025 finalist Amanda Anisimova also following Keys out the door. Francisco Cerundolo rallied from two sets down to upset Fritz 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. Belgium's Alexander Blockx shocked fifth-seeded Flavio Cobolli, winning 11 straight games. Fourth-seeded Coco Gauff battled through in straight sets, shaking off a slow start.