Zheng Qinwen overpowers No. 1 seed Daria Kasatkina in Abu Dhabi for third Top 10 win

Zheng Qinwen isn’t playing around this week in Abu Dhabi, going six for six in sets to reach the semifinals of the inaugural WTA 500 event.

After outhitting No. 5 seed Jelena Ostapenko in the previous round, the 2022 WTA Newcomer of the Year ousted top seed Daria Kasatkina, 6-1, 6-2, in 78 minutes Friday. The performance marked Zheng’s third career Top 10 victory.

The contrast of styles behind the baseline tipped the scale in favor of the power player, as the 20-year-old struck 25 winners (to 19 unforced errors) and saved all four break points she faced. On the flip side, Kasatkina only managed a 49 percent success rate on serve and hit 22 unforced errors to go with just eight winners.

“It was a great match for me. She’s playing really well, a really good defensive player,” the Shiyan native said on court afterwards. “I’m really happy I performed with my good tennis today to get this match.”

For a place in the final, the Chinese No. 2 gets Liudmila Samsonova. The eighth seed dispatched No. 4 seed Veronika Kudermetova, 6-3, 6-3.

Zheng, who recently appeared on the cover of GQ China, is aiming to capture her first tour-level crown this week, having previously finished runner-up to Samsonova at Tokyo’s 500 event last September.

Earlier, second-seeded Belinda Bencic eased past Shelby Rogers, 7-6 (5), 6-2. Like Zheng, the Swiss protected her serve under pressure, erasing all five break points Rogers created.

Sixth seed Beatriz Haddad Maia rallied past reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 for the right to meet Bencic in Saturday’s final four.