Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus impressively confirmed her role as favorite at the US Open and reached the semi-finals. The 25-year-old, who will soon be number one in the tennis world, prevailed 6: 1, 6: 4 against the Chinese Qinwen Zheng and is among the top four at the Grand Slam tournament in New York for the third time in a row.

"I definitely played great tennis today. I'm super happy with my performance. I gave myself a chance to do better in the semifinals this year," Sabalenka said. "I have things to do here. I have time after the US Open to think about being the new No. 1."

Due to the defeat of the top seeded titleholder Iga Swiatek from Poland in the round of 16, Sabalenka will take the lead in the world rankings for the first time in her career after the US Open. In the semifinals she meets the winner of the game between Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova and Madison Keys from the USA. Sabalenka had won the Australian Open this year and reached the semifinals at the French Open and Wimbledon.