Aryna Sabalenka gathered in the second set to beat China’s Qinwen Zheng 6-2, 7-5 in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open on Tuesday.
Sabalenka, top seed and world no. 1, went 7 out of 12 on break points to secure a place in the Miami semi -final for the first time.
She will play Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, who beat Magda Linette in Poland 6-3, 6-2 in a match that was delayed three hours due to the weather.
Sabalenka collected from a 4-2 deficit in the second set against Zheng, the ninth seed of the tournament. Sabalenka won 29 out of 35 seconds from Zheng on the way to improve its career record versus Zheng to 6-0.
“Honestly, every match is tough against her. I always have to work really hard to get the profit, and today was an incredible level from both of us,” Sabalenka said. “I’m super happy to get this win. I’m super happy with how I handled all the emotions and handled the pressure.”
Paolini, who was in the final at Wimbledon and French Open 2024, became the first Italian to reach the semi -final in Miami. She had lost in the round of 16 in all three WTA 1000 events this season.
“I think I didn’t play bad this season. I just didn’t have a good result,” she said. “I lost many matches but to big opponents. … maybe I just needed a little more confidence and it came here maybe.”
-Field level media
