Twice in the past three days, Zheng Qinwen has rallied from 5-0 down to take a set. On Saturday, she came back in the decider against Madison Keys. On Monday, she repeated the feat in the opening set against No. 8 seed Iga Swiatek, then closed out a 7-5, 6-3 victory to reach US Open quarterfinals for the third time.

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Zheng improved to 2-7 against Swiatek on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, defeating her on two of the sport’s biggest stages — first in Paris at the 2024 Olympics and now at the US Open in New York. She became the first qualifier or lucky loser to beat Swiatek at a Grand Slam; the former World No. 1 had been 15-0 in such matches.

With the win, Zheng also became the first qualifier to reach the US Open women’s singles quarterfinals since Emma Raducanu in 2021, a run that famously ended with the title. Her path, though, has been markedly different.

“Psychologically, it’s very difficult to accept. I used to be Top 10, an Olympic champion. I’ve played in the big stadiums since the beginning,” Zheng said in her post-match press conference. “My ranking dropped so much after injury. I couldn’t perform well the last three, four months. I know people have a lot of doubts about me, and it’s really hard for me.

“I need to keep positive every single day, telling myself, ‘Just keep working, and let’s see when the results are going to happen.”‘

The latest such result came Monday. Here were the key moments — down to the minute — in Zheng’s hallmark victory over Swiatek:

0:19- After a fast start that saw Swiatek win eight of the first nine points for a 2-0 lead, she extended her dominance with a love hold for 5-0 to move within a game of claiming the opening set.

0:47- As in the third set against Keys, a straightforward hold for 5-1 served as the catalyst for Zheng’s turnaround. After winning three straight games, she made it four in a row with a break for 5-4 after saving a third Swiatek set point.

0:51- Zheng leveled at 5-all with a forehand winner — one of her nine winners in the first set and 20 overall.

0:55- Zheng broke for 6-5 after Swiatek double-faulted facing break point. After three routine holds to start, Swiatek was broken three straight times to end the set.

0:59- An ace moved Zheng within two points. A forehand winner earned her set point. And Zheng provided the exclamation point with a love hold to win her seventh straight game and seal the opener just shy of the one-hour mark.

1:39- After failing to convert an opportunity in the previous game, Zheng faced double break point serving at 3-2. Swiatek’s forehand missed wide on the second, allowing Zheng to escape. A backhand winner set up a second game point, and she held for 3-3.

1:46- Seven minutes later, Zheng earned another chance to move in front — and this time she didn’t let it slip away. She punished a second serve, firing a backhand return winner down the line to break for 4-3.

1:56- Swiatek saved a trio of match points but only delayed the inevitable. A pair of backhand errors — the last sent into the net — handed Zheng a well-deserved victory four minutes shy of two hours.

“I didn’t have good timing. I wasn’t hitting the ball right,” Swiatek said in her post-match press conference. “It’s tough to get over that when it happens. And maybe I could have played safer or something, but I also didn’t feel like I had space with Qinwen to do that.”

What’s next

Zheng will face No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals. Rybakina cruised past No. 13 seed Naomi Osaka 6-1, 6-4 in just 66 minutes in their fourth-round contest.

Rybakina leads the head-to-head 4-1 over Zheng and has won both meetings this season, in Doha and Madrid — both in three sets. If she wins again and advances to the semifinals, she would usurp Aryna Sabalenka for the World No. 1 ranking at the conclusion of the US Open.