Emma Navarro will face hot-favorite Aryna Sabalenka next after the Belarusian reached her fourth straight US Open semi-final as she bulldozed past China’s Zheng Qinwen, 6-1, 6-2.
While Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen opened the match with a fiery backhand winner, she eventually went out with nothing more than a whimper.
A re-match of this year’s Australian Open final, second seed Aryna Sabalenka was even more brutal this time around, limiting Zheng to just three games.
China’s number one was admittedly not her usual self, with her serve betraying her early on in the match, before the errors bled into the rest of her game.
Zheng pointed to her box at one point, venting her frustrations as she missed yet another easy ball, but truthfully, the Belarusian was simply too good.
Aryna Sabalenka expects a ‘tough’ US Open semi-final against Emma Navarro
With Sabalenka having notched up her tenth consecutive win, she faces her first American opponent since her defeat of Jessica Pegula in Cincinnati.
Navarro has previously caused problems for Sabalenka, with the American emerging the winner in their three-set battle at Indian Wells in March.
Having since avenged this defeat with a straight sets victory at Roland Garros, Sabalenka admitted she was excited to play Navarro once again.
“She’s a great player,” she said. “I saw her matches here, she’s playing incredible tennis and yeah it’s going to be great battle and I’m really looking forward to facing her again.”
The American is in supreme form and Navarro has admitted her lofty ambitions for success on the WTA Tour, with the end of the US Open set to propel her into the top 10 for the first time in her career.
Aryna Sabalenka still remains the favorite for US Open glory
Sabalenka was as dominant as she has been since the start of her faultless run in Cincinnati.
The heavy favorite after her demolition of Iga Swiatek and Pegula in the mid-west, the Belarusian has only cemented her claim this past five matches.
A painful defeat to Coco Gauff in last year’s final saw Sabalenka throw away a set advantage.
Despite Sabalenka dealing with scheduling confusion, the glowing 26-year-old has a concrete chance of going one better this year.
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