The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 U.S. Open. NEW YORK — Zheng Qinwen is most dangerous when she is down.For the second consecutive match, the 2024 Olympic gold medalist came back from 5-0 down in a set to win. This time, six-time major champion Iga Świątek was on the receiving end of a 7-5, 6-3 victory on Arthur Ashe Stadium, in which the 2022 U.S. Open champion’s serve failed to help her escape Zheng’s surge in the opening set.“I guess to come back again from 0-5, that’s not lucky,” Zheng said in an on-court interview Monday, smiling. In the previous round, she came from 5-0 down to 2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys in the deciding set, again winning 7-5.Like a dislodged train cart rolling down a hill, Zheng started slowly and picked up speed until she became unstoppable.Świątek flew to a 5-0 lead in the first set before Zheng seemed to remember that such a deficit is not insurmountable. She settled in and started serving better, calmly rattling off games while Świątek, flustered by the turn, struggled to raise her level to match.Świątek had started as ominously as Zheng did slowly. She raced to her lead by playing the patient tennis that earned her the Canadian Open title, breaking the sidelines with her forehand and letting Zheng make errors on both serve and return.