Qinwen Zheng and Donna Vekic renew hostilities in the US Open fourth round on Sunday, four weeks after their gold medal match at the Paris Olympic Games.
The Chinese defeated the Croatian player in straight sets to become the first Asian player to clinch gold in the singles event at the Games and seeks another triumph over the Wimbledon semi-finalist to secure consecutive quarter-final appearances in New York.
Match preview
© Imago
Two years removed from losing to Jule Niemeier in Queens, Zheng got her revenge at the same stage on Friday with relative ease in a 6-2, 6-1 triumph.
A 6-4, 7-6(5) loss to the German was hurtful for the 21-year-old, who has since reached the quarters at the US Open, advanced to a Grand Slam final and won Olympic gold since that round-three exit at Flushing Meadows in 2022.
The No. 7 seed's enhanced status and hard court performance Down Under in Australia means she poses an outside chance of success at the final Slam of the year, having recovered from a first-round Wimbledon exit to reach another fourth-round match in Queens.
Statistically, Zheng's best results come in New York — a 75% win rate before this year's tournament — and she will fancy herself against a woman she beat at the start of August, keen to feature in another last-eight match at the event.
Having shown her powers of recovery by responding to setbacks in rounds one and two, Zheng notched her first straight-set success in the third round and hopes for a similar outcome on Sunday.
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The hard-hitting Vekic will grant no favours in their rematch, hoping to eliminate the woman who denied her a gold medal in Paris on August 3.
Although this year's run to the fourth round already counts as success for the World No. 24 — after three straight tournament-opening exits in 2021, 2022 and 2023 — the 28-year-old hopes to make another quarter-final in the United States after her 2019 appearance.
It would be a fitting way to close out the Croatian's 2024 at the leading events, where she progressed to a first Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon and thrived in the Paris Games weeks later, becoming the first woman from her nation to claim a medal at the Games.
Unlike her opponent, who has twice needed three sets to make it this far, Vekic has notched victories in the opening three rounds without dropping a set and seeks to continue that run.
However, facing a seeded opponent for the first time — and one in the top 10 — suggests that she is unlikely to have another straightforward success in the fourth round.
Tournament so far
Qinwen Zheng:
First round: vs. Amanda Anisimova 4-6 6-4 6-2
Second round: vs. Erika Andreeva 6-7[3] 6-1 6-2
Third round: vs. Jule Niemeier 6-2 6-1
Donna Vekic:
First round: vs. Kimberly Birrell 6-4 6-4
Second round: vs. Greet Minnen 7-5 6-1
Third round: vs. Peyton Stearns 7-5 6-4
Head To Head
Courmayeur (2021) - Round of 32: Vekic 7-6(1) 6-2
Zhuhai (2023) - Round 1: Zheng 6-4 6-7(6) 6-4
Olympics (2024) - Final: Zheng 6-2 6-3
Both women battle for the fourth time on the WTA Tour, with Zheng leading their head-to-head 2-1.
Although the Chinese player is ranked higher, Vekic's four career titles eclipse the 21-year-old's three, even if that statistic comes with the caveat of the seven-year age difference.
Zheng has notched one more title than Vekic in 2024 and has a superior win-loss record over the Croatian — 25-13 to the 28-year-old's 22-16.
We say: Vekic to win in three sets
Having made it through the final Slam of the year without facing a seeded opponent, Sunday's match is not expected to be easy for either opponent.
Motivated by defeat in Paris, we are backing Vekic to edge out Zheng in three tight sets in New York and claim a 16th victory over a top-10 player.
