Zheng struggled with her serve early in the contestShe landed only 29 per cent of her first serves in the opening set and made four double faults
Published: September 6, 2026, 12:54 PM IST
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Zheng Qinwen after beating Madison Keys in the US Open 2026(Credits: X)
Zheng Qinwen saved a match point and came back from 5-0 down in the deciding set to beat Madison Keys 1-6, 7-6(3), 7-5 in the third round of the US Open on Saturday.
The Chinese player looked close to defeat for most of the matchKeys won the opening set in just 23 minutes and moved within one game of victory in the thirdBut Zheng refused to give up, winning the final seven games to complete one of the biggest comebacks of the tournament.
The result was even more important for Zheng because of the difficult months she has hadThe 23-year-old missed time after right elbow surgery and began her US Open campaign in qualifyingShe had to win three matches to reach the main draw and has now won six matches in a row in New York.
Zheng struggled with her serve early in the contestShe landed only 29 per cent of her first serves in the opening set and made four double faultsKeys took advantage, breaking twice and taking control of the match.
The second set was much closerZheng began to find her range from the baseline, while Keys made a number of unforced errorsZheng moved ahead 5-3, but Keys fought back to level the set at 5-5The set went to a tie-break, where Zheng played with greater confidence and won 7-3.
Keys appeared to have the match in her hands again in the deciding setShe raced to a 5-0 lead and had a match point at 5-1Zheng saved it with a brave shot and then broke Keys to stay alive.
From there, the match changed completelyZheng began taking more risks, hitting winners and putting pressure on Keys’ serveThe American struggled to close out the contest, while Zheng kept fighting for every point.
Zheng finally moved ahead 6-5 and served for the matchShe needed only one match point, with Keys sending a shot wide to end the contest.
“I kept telling myself, keep holding every single pointSomehow, little by little, it just happened,” Zheng said after the matchShe also admitted that this was the first time in her career she had turned around a 0-5 deficit in the final set.
The victory takes Zheng into the fourth round, where she will face either eighth seed Iga Swiatek or Marie BouzkovaA meeting with Swiatek would give Zheng another chance to test herself against the player she defeated in the semi-finals of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
