It can’t get bigger than this for Qinwen Zheng, can it? Last month, she emerged victorious at the Paris Olympic Games, adding to her country’s gold medals tally. It was a historic victory for Zheng as she became the first tennis player from her country to do so. Shortly after that sensational victory, the Chinese star is into the quarterfinals of the US Open and is looking confident of a good finish here. However, in her path stands the second seed, Aryna Sabalenka, who is in good form herself.

In a battle of heavyweights, it could be anyone’s game as both players come into the match in good form. With the stakes high, expect some thrilling action when the two clash against each other.

Aryna Sabalenka vs Qinwen Zheng: Preview

The Belarusian tennis star has been on a roll of late, winning nine consecutive matches. Before the US Open, Sabalenka emerged victorious at the Cincinnati Open, defeating Jessica Pegula in the summit clash. However, it wasn’t the only moment of success that Sabalenka tasted this year. She began her season by winning the Australian Open title, her second Grand Slam victory. After that, although she performed consistently during the clay court and grass court seasons, the Belarusian failed to lift a trophy on those surfaces. Nonetheless, she is back on hard courts now and looks favorite going into the clash against Zheng.

While Sabalenka has been in the form of her life, Zheng has been no less. Against all odds, she won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics. Other notable performances by Zheng have been a runners-up finish at the Australian Open and winning the Palermo Ladies Open title. Despite her good form, Zheng has had to grind hard for her victories. Apart from her third-round match, all of Zheng’s matches at the US Open have gone on to the third set, something which Aryna Sabalenka would have kept an eye on.

Sabalenka vs Zheng: Head-to-head

Both Zheng and Aryna Sabalenka have been at the top of their game for quite some time now. As a result, the two have found each other on the opposite ends of the court often during big matches. They have faced each other twice and interestingly, both of their encounters happened at the Grand Slam level, with Sabalenka triumphing on both occasions.

Their first match was at the US Open last year where the Belarusian star won the quarterfinal encounter in straight sets. A few months later, they played the final of the Australian Open, with Sabalenka again prevailing in straight sets. Thus, Zheng will have to hope for a serious turnaround to change her fortunes against Sabalenka.

Prediction: Sabalenka to continue her domination

While Sabalenka is ranked second on the WTA Tour, Zheng lies five spots below her at the 7th position. Additionally, Sabalenka has won an astonishing 39 of the 50 matches that she has played this year while her Chinese opponent has only managed 25 wins from 38 matches. The Belarusian star loves playing at Flushing Meadows, where she reached the finals last year.

This was quite evident from her fourth-round performance against Elise Mertens. Sabalenka dominated the match from start to end to prevail in straight sets 6-2, 6-4. What was notable to see was that Sabalenka was a force to reckon with in her return games, winning almost 50% of the receiving points.

Thus, with all the stars aligning for her, Sabalenka is expected to continue her winning run against Zheng and prevail in straight sets. Their match will take place at the Arthur Ashe Stadium later today.