China's Zheng Qinwen knocked out by Rybakina in US Open quarterfinals

Second-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan battled back from a set down to edge China's Zheng Qinwen 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 on Wednesday, advancing to the US Open semifinals for the first time.

Both players held serve through the initial seven games of the opening set, before Zheng earned the first break point of the match in the eighth. Rybakina saved it, only to dump her next return into the net and concede the break. Serving for the set, China's reigning Olympic gold medalist then fended off five break points to close it out 6-3.

Zheng's level dropped in the second set as Rybakina broke her serve twice in a 6-1 thrashing. The deciding set then saw the Kazakh break her opponent again in the ninth game, before wrapping things up 6-4.

"I didn't take chances on the key points, and that's on me," Zheng said. "Both my opponent and I played very well, and I learned a lot from the match."

Rybakina, who will rise to World No. 1 on Monday, downplayed the ranking as a secondary concern.

"It's just a number right now," she noted. "My goal is to win any tournament I play. I'll go one match at a time and it's an amazing achievement. We know anything can change so quickly in tennis, a ranking, or during a match, so I need to focus on my tennis, recover and enjoy tomorrow."

Rybakina will face the host nation's Coco Gauff next, after the fourth seed and 2023 champion rallied past fifth-seeded Mirra Andreeva 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2.