NEW YORK -- World No.7 Zheng Qinwen battled through another late-night thriller at the US Open to defeat Donna Vekic 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-2 in the Round of 16. Zheng will face World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals in a rematch of this year's Australian Open final. 

The match ended at 2:15 a.m. on Monday morning, setting the US Open record for the latest finish of a women's match. The previous record was set in 2021 by Maria Sakkari and Bianca Andreescu, with the Greek star winning 6-7(2), 7-6(6), 6-3 at 2:13 a.m.

US Open: Scores | Draw | Order of play

In a repeat of the Paris 2024 Olympic gold-medal match, Zheng held off an outstanding effort from the 24th-ranked Croatian to make her second consecutive US Open quarterfinal and second Grand Slam quarterfinal of the season. 

"I think she performs better on hard court compared to clay. Her ball is very flat," Zheng said after the match. "If you are not used to it it's very difficult to control. She was serving very well. It was tough to break her in the beginning of the match. It was a competitive match and I'm really happy to hold the pressure and get this match."

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Three takeaways from a high-quality showdown:

Once again, Zheng proves her mettle (medal?)

When they met in the gold-medal match in Paris, Zheng rolled to a 6-2, 6-3 win over Vekic. Vekic had no answers on the clay, where Zheng has won three of her four titles, but it was a different story on the hard courts at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Far more comfortable on quicker surfaces, Vekic made her intentions known from the first game. She absorbed Zheng's baseline pace while redirecting the ball perfectly. It wasn't until the sixth game of the match that she registered a single unforced error. 

Zheng remained unfazed. As she looked to make her third career major quarterfinal, Zheng played freely and courageously throughout the match. As the two traded 12 holds of serve to push the opening set into a tiebreak, Zheng did not waver. She finished the 59-minute opener with 15 winners to eight unforced errors, including seven aces. Vekic, who saved the only two break points of the set, did not trail far behind, hitting 14 winners to 10 unforced errors.

Vekic earned the first break of serve in the match to lead 2-0 in the second set. But Zheng struck back to get back on serve and then saved two break points to hold to 3-3. By now, Vekic was rolling through her service games and she carried that confidence into the 10th game. There, after two hours of play, she fired a big forehand return to earn the first of two break points and closed out the set on another forehand winner.

Zheng responded with her most clinical set of the match. She broke serve immediately behind two forehand strikes and held Vekic off to seal another gritty win.

"She made a lot of winners today because I could see she felt really well this type of surface and I was not feeling as good as I should," Zheng said. "But after this match I feel much better than all the matches before."

Vekic's level continues to impress

Vekic had her chance to mount a comeback in the third set, but a poorly executed drop shot at 3-2, 30-all, which would have given her a break-back point failed to clear the net. It will be a night of "what-ifs" for the 28-year-old, but this was an outstanding performance nevertheless. She turned the match around by amping up her baseline aggression to take the ball early and flat to rush Zheng. Vekic finished with more winners than Zheng, striking 34 to 33. 

Zheng won because she did not blink in the face of Vekic's pressure, and that's a credit to the 21-year-old from Wuhan. But the performance was further proof that Vekic can sustain her summer surge. In the last three months she has made the Bad Homburg final, Wimbledon semifinals, Olympic final, and now just her second career US Open Round of 16. 

Zheng's serve could carry her to the title 

Through four wins in New York, Zheng is averaging more than 10 aces per match. She has hit a total 48 aces, more than double of anyone remaining in the field. Her first serve has been devastating. She's won 80 percent of the points when it lands in and she has been broken just eight times.

"I feel really proud of myself because it's not easy changing surfaces from clay to hard," Zheng said, "and especially because I went back to China so I didn't have the same practice as other players. So basically I"m just trying to hold myself and try to get the match even if I'm not feeling at my best. But I start to feel better and better."

Zheng has a tough task in facing a confident and in-form Sabalenka next. The World No.2 has beaten her in their two prior meetings, including here, at the same stage last year.