Chinese youngster Wang Xinyu beat Anna Schmiedlova of Slovakia in the U.S. Open third round 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Friday to reach the last 16 in a Grand Slam for the first time and rise to world No. 39.
Shortly after, Wang claimed her second victory of the day to enter the women's doubles last 16 with her French Open championship partner, Hsieh Su-wei of Chinese Taipei.
Wang, 21, came back from behind in both matches to set up her next singles match with Czech 10th seed Karolina Muchova, and doubles match with Russian duo Elina Avanesyan and Kamilla Rakhimova.
Wang Xinyu in action during U.S. Open women's singles third round in New York, U.S., September 1, 2023. /CFP
"I like clean shots, clean hits and I think I'm a very powerful player, so I enjoy playing on hard courts," said Wang, who came roaring back after dropping the first set to 64th-ranked Schmiedlova and breaking twice to take the second set before winning four games in a row to win the decider from 0-2 down.
Meanwhile, top seeds Iga Swiatek of Poland and local Coco Gauff both advanced to the next round.
Defending champion Swiatek barely broke sweat with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Slovenian qualifier and best friend Kaja Juvan, while Cincinnati Open champion Gauff was made to work by Belgium's Elise Mertens in the opening set before completing a 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 comeback to set up her next round match with Dane Caroline Wozniacki, the former world No.1 who recently returned to the sport after three years of retirement.
Wozniacki came from behind in similar fashion and by a similar scoreline earlier in the day to see off local Jennifer Brady 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, who was Australian Open runner-up in 2021 and struggled with a foot injury and knee problem to make a long awaited return this time.
(With input from agencies)