Zheng blames sleepless night for Open exit, eyes China 'prime time'

NEW YORK, United States — Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen said her tame US Open quarterfinal exit was caused by a sleepless night following the record late finish to her previous match, but predicted she will be "prime time" when she gets back to China.

Zheng was back on court Tuesday evening (Wednesday, Manila time) to face world number two Aryna Sabalenka having played until 2:15 am on Monday to complete her last-16 victory over Donna Vekic.

The 21-year-old Zheng said she only got to bed at 5:00 am and was unable to practice on Monday.

"I couldn't sleep after I finished the match at 2:30 in the morning. I'm not able to practice yesterday because I was feeling terrible. I couldn't wake up," said Zheng after her 6-1, 6-2 loss to Sabalenka.

"Sometimes the schedule is like this. If I hit some balls yesterday maybe it would help for the match today, but it's fine."

Zheng was defeated by Sabalenka at the same stage of the US Open in 2023 and came off second best again to the Belarusian in the Australian Open final in January.

Now the Chinese star heads home for the Asian swing, where she hopes her rising profile will mean more favourable match schedules, especially when the WTA stops off in Wuhan in October.

"I'm sure they will put me in prime time all the time. They will not put me late like here, I'm sure, and I will always get the court when I want, how long I want," she confidently predicted.

"This is the best thing because here it is not easy to get the court. I have to fight a lot, even when I'm seeded.

"I'm sure there will be my pictures in Wuhan. Yes, when I think about it, I'm happy to be back in Wuhan."

Sabalenka's win on Tuesday was witnessed by tennis legend Roger Federer, whose appearance on the TV screens around Arthur Ashe Stadium sparked the loudest cheers.

"I saw him on the big screen. I'm pretty sure he came to watch Tiafoe and Dimitrov," said Sabalenka in reference to the men's quarter-final which followed her match.

"But still, I was like, okay, I have to play my best tennis so he enjoys it. I have to show my skills, you know, slice skills, come to the net and all that stuff. It was a nice moment."