China's Wang, Zheng progress at US Open
Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen kept up the momentum from her victory in Paris with a cathartic win over Germany's Jule Niemeier at the US Open on Friday, while another Chinese woman, Wang Yafan, put out three-time Flushing Meadow finalist Victoria Azarenka. Zheng breezed to a 6-2, 6-1 third round win over Jule Niemeier of Germany in 1 hour and 21 minutes,  exacting a bit of revenge on Niemeier, who eliminated her in this tournament in 2022. "I remember that match so clear," Zheng said. "I lost that match at midnight – it was a tough match and really painful. I remember I sat one hour in (the US Open site) at, I don't know, 3 o'clock, there crying by myself alone. "So today when I play against her, since the beginning I'm really focused, because I don't want that feeling to happen again to me. I'm glad I'm the winner today so I don't have to cry!" Zheng next takes on Donna Vekic of Croatia on Sunday in a repeat of the Paris Games final. Unseeded Wang recorded a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 win over twentieth-seeded Azarenka to set up a fourth round tie against Paula Badosa, the 26th seed from Spain. Elsewhere, Coco Gauff continued in her pursuit of recording back-to-back US Open titles by rallying to a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over Elina Svitolina. The third-seeded Gauff overcame a mistake-filled first set by saving five of seven break points against the 27th-seeded Svitolina of Ukraine. The highlight of the match came in the third set when Gauff outlasted Svitolina during a fierce 37-stroke exchange that ended when the latter's backhand sailed wide. "She's a fighter," the 20-year-old Gauff said of Svitolina, a three-time major semifinalist. "I knew I had to play my best." Gauff hopes to give the fans a thrill on Sunday when she vies for a spot in the quarterfinals against 13th-seeded Emma Navarro, who posted a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win over 19th-seeded Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine. (Reuters/RTHK)