Zheng Qinwen staged an incredible first-set turnaround to shock eighth seed Iga Swiatek and book her place in the US Open quarter-finals.

Having failed to win any of the first five games, Zheng went on an incredible run and eventually prevailed 7-5 6-3 in one hour and 53 minutes.

It all started so well for Swiatek, who gave up just six points as she raced into a 5-0 lead.

However, Zheng quickly shook off her shaky start to hold for the first time and get on the board before having to fend off three set points across the Pole's next two service games.

She then served out the first set with a love-hold, leaving Swiatek with questions over that first-set collapse.

The Pole did not let her head drop, though, with both players evenly matched across the first six games. Swiatek defended a break point in the fifth, with Zheng then doing so twice in the next.

And that hold proved vital as it was the start of a four-game winning streak for Zheng, who wasted her first three match points on Swiatek's serve, but got over the line when the former world number one fired into the net.

She did it AGAIN

The final 8 awaits #USOpen pic.twitter.com/oYYMjRLvBB

— wta (@WTA) September 7, 2026

There was no upset on the cards for Mirra Andreeva, though the French Open champion had to come from behind against Anastasia Potapova.

The Russian is through to the first US Open quarter-final of her career after earning a 5-7 6-4 6-3 win in just under two and a half hours.

Zheng loves a comeback

It is not the first time at Flushing Meadows this year that Zheng has lost the first five games of a set, having been on the brink of defeat in her third-round tie, only to come from 5-0 and a match point down to win the third set and move forward.

At 5-0 up, Swiatek will have been feeling increasingly confident, having won seven of the eight career meetings against Zheng before this one.

That loss came at the Olympics in 2024, when Zheng went on to claim gold, and on Monday, she became the first lucky loser/qualifier to beat Swiatek at a grand slam event; the Pole was 15-0 against such opponents before.

No Chinese player has reached the quarter-finals of the US Open more often in the Open Era than Zheng (three), who will face Naomi Osaka or Elena Rybakina in the next round.

As for Andreeva, she earned her second comeback win over Potapova in 2026 – she triumphed 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the Linz final in April.

The teenager will now bid for her third grand slam semi-final against Coco Gauff or Iva Jovic.