Zheng goes from 5-0 and match point down to victory

Zheng Qinwen described her US Open third-round comeback win over Madison Keys as a "very dramatic match" - but that is somewhat of an understatement.

The Olympic champion, who had to come through qualifying to reach the main draw, found herself 5-0 and match point down in the third set against Keys.

But Zheng held firm and reeled off seven games in a row to secure a remarkable 1-6 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 victory over the 22nd seed and crowd favourite.

Keys, who won the 2025 Australian Open, appeared to be cruising towards a commanding victory after wrapping up the opening set in just 23 minutes.

But Zheng, who is rebuilding her career after undergoing elbow surgery last year, rallied, clinching it on a tie-break before snatching victory from the jaws of defeat against the American.

Zheng threw herself to the floor in relief and reflected afterwards on a difficult 12 months in which she has questioned if she will rediscover her form.

"Finally, a bit of luck is on my side," the 23-year-old said.

"I am just telling myself ever give up. Somehow, little by little, it's just happened.

"Tennis sometimes feels like rollercoaster. You see many times people have a match point, but at the end we made a comeback."

The Chinese star is the first qualifier to reach the women's fourth round at the US Open since Britain's Emma Raducanu, who went on to win the 2021 title.

Three months ago, Zheng could not hold back her tears in a news conference after a first-round exit at the French Open.

It was her first Grand Slam since undergoing surgery in July 2025 to correct a chronic injury caused by small pieces of bone floating in the elbow.

The injury came after a breakthrough 2024 where she reached the Australian Open final, won Olympic gold and made the US Open quarter-finals.

She had also enjoyed a promising start to 2025 before injury struck, advancing to the last eight at Roland Garros and climbing to a career-high of fourth in the world rankings.

It was understandable, therefore, why Zheng found a first-round defeat in Paris this year difficult to take - even if it was to eventual runner-up Maja Chwalinska after nine months on the sidelines.

Her ranking dropped as low as 160 and she had to contest a Grand Slam qualifying event for the first time in four years.

"After coming back from injury I felt I lost the energy and I forgot how to compete," she said.

Zheng seems to have recaptured some of her best form, having been taken to three sets in four of her six matches in New York so far.

She did not meet criteria for a protected ranking - for which players can apply if they are out injured for at least six months - because she made an early comeback to play her home tournament in Beijing in October 2025.

That meant she had to come through qualifying - something she found difficult to accept.

"I was even crying after I won the third match to reach the main draw," Zheng said.

"The main draw is just the beginning where all the players start. That was my beginning before.

"I fight so hard just to start like everyone else. For me, that was really not easy."

Her composure was on display against Keys - especially at 5-4 0-15 down, when she was forced to stop her service motion after a baby started crying in the crowd.

"If it's adult, probably I will look at him very hard or start to speak, but it's just a baby," Zheng joked.

"I can't do anything, you know? It's just a baby."

Zheng went on to win the next four points to level the tie - and the rest was history.