Zheng Qinwen turned a match that looked gone into one of the day’s sharpest shocks at the 2026 US Open, coming back from 5-1 down in the third set to beat Madison Keys 6-1, 6-7 (3-7), 7-5 on Saturday, Sept. 5. Keys held a match point and was one game from the fourth round before Zheng found a way through.
For the No. 22 seed, it was a loss that should have closed the door. For Zheng, who is still working her way back from elbow surgery and came in ranked outside the top 100, it was a reminder that a match is not finished until the last point is gone. She stood on Grandstand after the win and told the crowd, “Never give up, stay there,” then added, “Somehow little by little it just happened.”
That comeback mattered because Saturday was already shaping up as a day of seeded exits. No. 24 Anastasia Potapova beat No. 10 Amanda Anisimova 6-2, 7-5, No. 9 Taylor Fritz fell to No. 24 Francisco Cerundolo in a five-set match that lasted three hours and 40 minutes, and No. 28 Alexander Blockx knocked out No. 5 Flavio Cobolli. The day also brought straight-set wins for No. 5 Mirra Andreeva, No. 4 Coco Gauff, No. 8 Iga Swiatek and Karen Khachanov, while Arthur Gea outlasted Michael Zheng in five sets.
The turning point in Zheng’s match was not just the scoreboard. Keys had already done enough to make the finish feel routine, and then she did not finish it. That opened the door for Zheng to keep extending points, keep forcing exchanges and keep making Keys play one more ball than she wanted. From there, the comeback became a matter of surviving the next game, then the next, until 7-5 in the third set finally settled it.
Saturday’s schedule also pushed the tournament toward its next round of marquee names. Naomi Osaka was set to face Elise Mertens at Louis Armstrong Stadium, and in the night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium, No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev was to meet Alejandro Tabilo after the match between No. 14 Iva Jovic and No. 17 Alexandra Eala. Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz were off Saturday and due back Sunday, Sept. 6, which keeps both defending champions in view as the draw tightens.
