Monday 2 September 2019 20:34, UK
World No 2 Ashleigh Barty suffered a shock straight-sets defeat in the fourth round of the US Open at the hands of Qiang Wang.
The Australian, who won the French Open earlier this year, was beaten 6-2 6-4 and her 39 unforced errors contributed largely towards the unexpected loss.
A below-par Barty found the going tougher than expected against an opponent to whom she'd never lost a set to prior to this encounter.
She was broken twice in the first set and saved two match points on serve in the second. The Australian had a chance to break back but the hugely impressive Wang held her nerve.
A fourth match point saw the 27-year-old Chinese player over the line and booked her place in the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the very first time in her career.
"'Q' was very good, very solid," said Barty, who didn't show the type of form that had seen her reach the second week of every major this year.
"I felt like she was able to put the ball with great depth in difficult positions for me. I still was able to create opportunities, it was just very frustrating that on the big points today, she played a lot better.
"I mean I had nine break points, and I wasn't able to even get one of them, which is really frustrating. But it's been a great season in grand slams, making the second week in every single one, which has been really special.
"Now we'll sit back, reflect, and look forward to a big couple months to finish off the year."
Serena Williams will be Wang's opponent in the last-four as the 37-year-old dismissed the 22nd seed Petra Matric in an hour and 31 minutes inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion banged down 37 winners in comparison to her opponent's 11 and won 78 per cent of the points on her first serve.
The only tricky moment for Williams was an injury scare on her ankle which required her to receive a medical time-out.
"I just rolled it, I don't know why. I was volleying and it went over so I just wanted to get it compressed really fast," she said post-match.
"It affected me a little mentally because I've had a tough year with injuries."
