Zheng Qinwen begins U.S. Open journey with comeback win over Anisimova

Zheng Qinwen of China battled back to defeat Amanda Anisimova of the United States 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the first round of women's singles action at the U.S. Open on Monday.

The first set was rough for Zheng, as she trailed 5-1 early in the contest. Although she claimed three straight games in her rally, Anisimova took the set first to lead 1-0 overall at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

After improving her form from the second set, Zheng served four aces in the fourth game to level the set at 2-2, before going onto break her opponent's serve and claim the set.

Her dominance continued in the third set, which the seventh seed began with a 3-0 lead. Although Anisimova broke back and later saved a break point while training 4-2, she couldn't stop Zheng from taking both the set and the match.

"She was hitting the ball really good today, everything was going to the side and in, at the beginning. I couldn't do anything," Zheng said after the match. "The further the match goes, I started to find my rhythm on the hard court. In the second set, I really believed in my shots. I started to be more consistent and found more percentage in my serve. Little by little, I got into it. I want to say a really good job from Amanda."

Zheng will face Erika Andreeva of Russia in the second round. Andreeva beat Zheng's compatriot Yuan Yue 6-3, 7(9)-6(7) on Monday.

China's Wang Yafan advanced to the women's second round as well, following the retirement of ninth seed Maria Sakkari of Greece. Wang won the first set 6-2 before Sakkari took a medical timeout. The 29-year-old skipped the Cincinnati Open last week due to a shoulder injury, and in the end, she wound up retiring from her first match since the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.

Wang Yafan's opponent in the second round will be Diane Parry of France, who knocked out Wang Xiyu of China 7-6(2), 7-6(5).