NEW YORK, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and American Coco Gauff advanced to the US Open women's singles semifinals on Wednesday, while top seed Alexander Zverev of Germany reached the men's last four.
Second-seeded Rybakina rallied past Zheng Qinwen of China 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to reach her first U.S. Open semifinal. After the players split the first two sets, Zheng missed a break chance at 4-3 in the third before Rybakina broke serve and closed out the match.
Rybakina, who will rise to No. 1 in the world rankings on Monday, said her focus remains on winning titles.
"It's a different achievement [to reach No. 1], and I feel like you're going for the titles more," Rybakina said. "And then ranking, it might follow up, maybe not. Depends on how others play."
Rybakina will face fourth-seeded Gauff, who defeated French Open champion Mirra Andreeva of Russia 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2. Gauff saved two match points in the second-set tiebreaker to reach the semifinals.
"And sometimes you just need a chance, and I think I got my chances today," Gauff said. "I was just really determined to not lose that second set, because I felt like I worked so hard to give myself opportunities and lost them."
For the first time since Wimbledon in 2009, all four top seeds at a Grand Slam have reached the semifinals. The other two players are Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and Jessica Pegula of the United States.
On the men's side, Zverev advanced with a 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 victory over Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands. He will face Karen Khachanov of Russia in the semifinals after 28th-seeded Alexander Blockx of Belgium retired injured while trailing 6-2, 7-5, 3-2.
"I started playing better throughout the tournament and I'm very happy to be in the semifinals here," said Zverev, who has reached the semifinals at all four Grand Slams this year. "But of course I want to go further." ■
