The 29-year-old Tunisian, also a finalist at Wimbledon in 2022 and 2023, had been ill since the start of the tournament and seemed completely exhausted. Despite the sporadic support from the public, aware that she was fighting with all her might, Jabeur committed too many unforced errors (33) to worry her opponent.
“I’m so happy to have played so well on a big court like this, in addition against a great player like Ons,” Zheng rejoiced before leaving the Louis-Armstrong arena. The 20-year-old Chinese lost last year in the third round at Flushing Meadows where she will try to reach the last four this year by facing Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (2nd) or Russian Daria Kasatkina (14th).
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