Qinwen Zheng out plays Jelena Ostapenko in three sets at US Open

Qinwen Zheng celebrates a point during her US Open debut against Jelena Ostapenko 

Qinwen Zheng brought the aces that took down the competition at the US Open Tuesday. The 19-year-old had a full-on consistent game from start to finish against Jelena Ostapenko, who couldn’t keep up in a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 score on Court 4 at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center. Zheng scored 21 aces in total, damaging the 16th seed to fall out in the first round.

It was Ostapenko’s first match back in New York since 2019, where she made it to the third round three years in a row. Facing the Chinese star was a new test for the 25-year-old, who had a less than expected run in Toronto and Cincinnati. Zheng made it further in Canada than the Latvian, defeating Ons Jabeur and Bianca Andreescu. Skipping the Western & Southern Open gave the teenager a chance to rest and prep for the final slam of the year. With the hope of making it four in a row, Ostapenko had to be in good shape to stop Zheng in her Open debut.

Zheng served to start the match but double-faulted after winning the first two points. Ostapenko was given a chance when Zheng’s second serve faltered, but the teen held the game to a break. The Latvian’s offense stumbled through the second, giving the Chinese star a breakpoint win. The 16th seed took her chance to break back in the third and went for a push in the fourth leading 40-0 on serve. Zheng got a point across, but Ostapenko assured herself to even the score.

Zheng held her end in the fifth, making it a battle for the 25-year-old to keep up. Ostapenko didn’t have the consistency to keep up with the teen’s pace and faltered to giving up a break. With a two-game buffer, Zheng consolidated with a precise attack on her sixth and seventh ace. Down 2-5, the 16th seed served to extend the set, keeping the teen behind on the score to hold serve. Zheng stayed on course and frustrated Ostapenko before capping a 5-3 break.

On serve for the set, the 19-year-old gained a 40-0 run and watched every set point opportunity go aside. Despite her opponent’s attempts at killing more, the Chinese teen found a way to lock one down after the first break, closing out the first in 36 minutes. Her first serve was a powerful workhorse on the court, notching 83 percent of points on the first serve and 14 winners. Keeping the unforced errors down was an accomplishment, but ten aces against the 16th seed said a lot about the offense she brought to the court.

Ostapenko served to begin the second and fought Zheng, who refused to give her any room to maneuver. They played two breaks, but a key winner for Ostapenko put her on the right foot in her moment to turn the match around. Zheng remained on course in the second, holding serve and patience wrapped up together. When she came into service in the fourth, Ostapenko found a way to make her opponent crack and suffer a break.

Gaining a lead for the first time in the match, the 25-year-old wanted more out of her offense, but fell behind on serve in the fifth. The Latvian rallied back only to be denied game point and forced to deuce. Zheng took her shot to break and successfully put a game between herself and the 16th seed. Backing up the break made it three-all for Zheng, but the seventh was just another battle for control, which Ostapenko wanted to keep.

They went to deuce for the fifth time in the match, where the 16th seed saved breakpoint and held to stay out front. Gaining the break on Zheng made it 5-3 for Ostapenko, who served to force the two into a decider. Finding it deep inside her, the 25-year-old pulled off a serve to love, ending the second set in 41 minutes.

Improvements were the key to her going three with Zheng, winning 14 of 18 points from the first serve and limiting the errors to five. Zheng managed just half the number of aces in the set and double the faults that made it anyone’s victory going into the third. Ostapenko picked up right where she left off in the second and went for a break to love on Zheng to get the third set rolling. The 16th seed consolidated the serve in the second, but the Chinese teen pulled off the same feat to even the score through four.

Ostapenko broke back again in the fifth, but Zheng notched the double break to sit at three-all. It was a neck-and-neck race to the finish line, with each player holding serve through the next three games. With Zheng gaining the advantage of serving out the ninth, Ostapenko was under pressure to keep herself in check.

She erred on both sides of the service, but more from the forehand. Zheng had match point, but let it slip away on a forced error. She was awarded the second when Ostapenko erred on the forehand, bringing her down in 1 hour and 34 minutes.