Qinwen Zheng turned an afternoon that looked beyond rescue into one of the most dramatic comebacks of this US Open. The Chinese qualifier saved a match point, won seven consecutive games in the deciding set and defeated Madison Keys 1-6, 7-6(3), 7-5 in Saturday's third round in New York.
Keys imposed her power immediately. The American took the opening set in just 23 minutes as Zheng landed only 29 percent of her first serves. Two breaks and consistently short rallies gave the No. 22 seed a commanding 6-1 start before Zheng could establish any rhythm.
The response was not seamless. Zheng moved ahead 5-3 in the second set, surrendered the break and was pushed into a tiebreak. That was where the Olympic champion rediscovered her aggression and accuracy: she led 4-2, allowed Keys only one more point and claimed the breaker 7-3.
The final set made the recovery extraordinary. Keys surged to a 5-0 lead and held match point while serving at 5-1. A backhand into the net kept Zheng alive. From there, Zheng seized the initiative, applied pressure to an increasingly tense opponent and swept seven games in a row, sealing the 7-5 set on her first match point.
The result also captures the scale of Zheng's comeback. The 23-year-old returned from right-elbow surgery and had to win three qualifying matches simply to reach the main draw. At Flushing Meadows, where she made the quarterfinals in each of her two previous appearances, she again displayed the heavy forehand, courage and endurance that powered her to Olympic gold in Paris in 2024.
For Keys, 31, the defeat ended another campaign that underscored her connection with New York. The 2017 finalist owns 35 US Open match wins, the third-highest total among active American women behind Serena Williams and Venus Williams.
Zheng will next play the winner of the match between 2022 US Open champion and No. 8 seed Iga Swiatek and No. 25 seed Marie Bouzkova. Zheng is 1-7 against Swiatek, with her lone victory coming during her Olympic gold-medal run, and she has never faced Bouzkova.
Sources consulted: the US Open's official report published September 5, 2026, and the WTA's coverage of Zheng's qualifying campaign.