New York: Zheng Qinwen was on her back with her arms in the air, celebrating a US Open victory few expected after she had fallen so far behind.
Madison Keys fought off tears as she tried to explain how Zheng, who was trailing heavily, somehow got the win.
Zheng, the Olympic gold medalist, continued her comeback at the US Open with a stunning rally, winning the final seven games to eliminate No. 22 Keys 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5.
“I feel like I obviously got off to a really good lead, and then I just got really — I mean, got really scared, like I couldn't swing,” Keys said. “I don't know. Tennis just feels really hard right now, so I feel like that kind of took over.”
Hours later, 13th-seeded Naomi Osaka joined her in the fourth round by defeating Elise Mertens 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. The two-time champion from Japan was stunned by her own victory after the final point.
“Honestly, I can't believe I won this match,” Osaka said. “I'm literally shocked that I won this match.”
Osaka was down 4-2 in the third set but fought back to avoid an upset.
“There was a certain point, I don't know, I felt like I put my entire heart on the court and then I just kept trying every single point,” Osaka said. “I didn't feel like I played amazing, and it was really getting me down. I was very negative on myself.”
Osaka avoided the kind of exit men's No. 9 seed Taylor Fritz endured, as he blew a two-set lead and fell to No. 24 Francisco Cerundolo 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
“I don't know how I let that happen today,” Fritz said.
Top seeds knocked out
Amanda Anisimova, the No. 10 seed, was also knocked out after losing to No. 24 Anastasia Potapova 6-2, 7-5. No. 5 Flavio Cobolli, the French Open runner-up, lost in four sets to No. 28 Alexander Blockx, leaving the men's draw without six of the top 10 seeds.
Keys won a three-set match in the previous round after saving five match points. Two days later, she surrendered a 5-0 lead in the deciding set against Zheng.
Keys had a match point while serving at 5-1, but could not convert it as Zheng won the final seven games.
“I'm just telling myself keep holding every single point, never give up, stay there and somehow little by little it just happened,” Zheng said.
She won the gold medal for China at the 2024 Olympics after reaching the Australian Open final that year, and has been ranked as high as No. 4. But after elbow surgery, she is down to No. 121 and had to go through qualifying just to make the main draw.
“The hard work pays off,” said Zheng, who will play 2022 US Open champion Iga Swiatek next.
Coco Gauff moves on
Coco Gauff, the 2023 US Open champion, beat Cristina Bucsa 6-3, 6-4. She will face 18-year-old Iva Jovic in the fourth round.
“Honestly, I feel like I'm definitely used to getting to Week 2s now because I feel like I woke up today and I was like, 'Oh, we're already in Round 3,'” Gauff said. “So, I think that's a good sign, just feeling like I'm not feeling tired.”
Jovic defeated fan favourite Alex Eala of the Philippines 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 in a match that lasted over three hours.
“The level was absolutely incredible from both sides,” Jovic said. “We definitely put on a show, and it literally took everything to get through that.”
Keys, who won the 2025 Australian Open for her lone Grand Slam title, said she would need to make some changes after the loss.
“I think she started playing better; I started playing poorly,” Keys said. “Then I felt like I couldn't play tennis anymore, and it just felt like it was a much bigger deal than just playing a tennis match all of a sudden.”
Fritz had won his first two matches comfortably, losing only 11 games, but Cerundolo fought back after Fritz took a two-set lead.
“I think fourth and fifth I played a really good tennis that I wasn't finding that tennis in the previous sets and the previous rounds,” the Argentine said.
Anisimova struggled to convert her break-point chances, taking just 3 of 16, while Potapova went 6 for 8 and matched her best showing in a Grand Slam tournament by reaching the fourth round.
Anisimova made the final at both Wimbledon and the US Open in 2025, falling to Aryna Sabalenka in Flushing Meadows. But after reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, the American was eliminated in the third round of the last three majors this year.
Potapova will play No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva, the French Open champion.
Top-seeded man Alexander Zverev, who had to win five-setters in the first two rounds, is facing No. 25 seed Alejandro Tabilo later Saturday night.