Aryna Sabalenka flexed her muscles as the incoming world number one by beating Chinese youngster Zheng Qinwen to reach the US Open semi-finals.

The second seed from Belarus will take over from Iga Swiatek at the top of the rankings on Monday, ending the Pole’s 75-week reign.

She cruised into the last four at Flushing Meadows for the third straight year with a commanding 6-1 6-4 victory in an hour and 13 minutes.

Zheng, 20, playing in her first grand slam quarter-final, won just four of the first 24 points of the match as Sabalenka raced into a 5-0 lead.

She stopped the bleeding by holding serve in the sixth game, but Sabalenka wrapped up the first set in only 27 minutes.

Zheng, seeded 23, restored some pride in the second but a break in the seventh game ensured Sabalenka became the first woman to reach the semi-finals of all four grand slams in the same year since Serena Williams in 2016.

The 25-year-old has dropped just 21 games in the 10 sets she has played over five rounds in New York.

She said: “I definitely played great tennis. I’m super happy with the performance tonight and to give myself a chance to do better in the semis.

“I’m going to do everything I can to stay until the end.”

Novak Djokovic broke yet another record as he reached the last four at the US Open.

The 36-year-old’s straight-sets win over Taylor Fritz saw him into the last four of a grand slam for the 47th time, overtaking Roger Federer’s tally.

Meanwhile, Coco Gauff became the first American teenager since Serena Williams in 2001 to reach the semi-finals.

Here, the PA news agency looks back at day eight at Flushing Meadows:

Pic of the dayPerformance of the day

Gauff dropped just two games as she blitzed Jelena Ostapenko 6-0 6-2 inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. The 19-year-old handed out a New York bagel in the first set to Latvian Ostapenko in only 20 minutes.

Quote of the dayStat of the daySong of the dayBrit watch

Defending champions Joe Salisbury and American partner Rajeev Ram are into the semi-finals of the men’s doubles.

Salisbury and Ram won the opening set against Argentinian duo Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 6-4 and came from 3-0 behind in the second by winning six games in a row.

Wimbledon boys’ champion Henry Searle lost in three sets to American Trevor Svajda in the second round of the juniors.

Fallen seeds

Women: Jelena Ostapenko (20), Sorana Cirstea (30).
Men: Taylor Fritz (9).

Who’s up next

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz takes on Alexander Zverev for a place in the semi-finals.

Second seed Aryna Sabalenka faces surprise package Qinwen Zheng of China.

Novak Djokovic kept his cool in the New York heat to reach the semi-finals of the US Open and break yet another record.

The ice-cold Serbian is through to the last four of a grand slam for the 47th time, moving him one ahead of Roger Federer’s tally, after a 6-1 6-4 6-4 win over Taylor Fritz.

The roof was half-closed on Arthur Ashe to shield the players from the 90 degree temperatures amid energy-sapping humidity at Flushing Meadows.

American Fritz has been red hot all fortnight, not dropping a single set on his way to the last 16, but he was ruthlessly extinguished by the 23-time grand slam champion.

A demoralised Fritz has now lost all eight matches he has played against Djokovic.

The ninth seed hit more winners – 33 to Djokovic’s 25 – but he was simply ground down by the 36-year-old with a grand total of 51 unforced errors telling its own story.

He also forced 12 break points but converted only two of them, the second of which levelled the third set at 4-4 and prompted Djokovic to shoo some of his own supporters out of one of the executive suites.

But Djokovic immediately hit back, the three-time winner then saving another break point before completing the victory in two hours and 35 minutes to silence a partisan American crowd.

Djokovic said: “It’s expected that people are backing the home player, there’s nothing wrong with that. I like the atmosphere here, I’m fine with that and I thrive on that energy.

“I’ve been playing on this court for many years, played many epic matches, and I’m looking forward to another one in a few days.

“It’s a huge opportunity every time I step out on the court and at my age I don’t know how many more opportunities I’ll get.”

Coco Gauff became the first American teenager since Serena Williams in 2001 to reach the semi-finals of the US Open.

The 19-year-old dropped just two games as she blitzed Jelena Ostapenko 6-0 6-2 inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Latvian Ostapenko, the 20th seed, had blown the women’s draw wide open when she knocked out defending champion and world number one Iga Swiatek in round four.

But she was unable to take advantage of her own handiwork as Gauff raced away with the first set in only 20 minutes.

Ostapenko made more of a contest of it in the second set, finally managing to hold serve at the fifth attempt.

But Gauff completed the job in an hour and eight minutes to reach the last four of her home grand slam for the first time.

“It feels great, I’m so happy,” she said. “Last year I lost in the quarter-finals and I wanted to do better. There’s a long way to go but I’m happy and ready to go back to work.

“Honestly, I didn’t feel comfortable the whole match, even on match point. I know the game she plays. It’s really tough against her – you can’t really be aggressive. She’s a top player and she’s had a great tournament.

“There’s a saying in basketball that ‘defence wins games’. It doesn’t always work in tennis but today that was the case.”

Gauff will face the winner of Tuesday night’s match between Sorana Cirstea and Karolina Muchova in the last four.

German Alexander Zverev had a spectator thrown out of his US Open match against Jannik Sinner for shouting “the most famous Hitler phrase”.

A man could clearly be heard yelling “Deutschland uber alles” inside Arthur Ashe Stadium as Zverev prepared to serve.

Zverev, the 12th seed, approached English umpire James Keothovang and said: “He just said the most famous Hitler phrase there is in the world. It’s unacceptable. This is unbelievable.”

Keothovang turned to the crowd and asked: “Who was the smart guy who said that? Who said that? Put your hand up. We’re going to get him out.”

He then announced to the crowd: “Please be fair and respect the players.”

The man suspected of yelling the slur was ejected by security at the end of the game.

Zverev went on to win the match in five sets and afterwards, the 26-year-old told reporters: “He started singing the anthem of Hitler that was back in the day. It was ‘Deutschland uber alles’ and it was a bit too much.”

German Alexander Zverev had a spectator thrown out of his US Open match against Jannik Sinner for shouting “the most famous Hitler phrase”.

A man could clearly be heard yelling “Deutschland uber alles” inside Arthur Ashe Stadium as Zverev prepared to serve.

Zverev, the 12th seed, approached English umpire James Keothovang and said: “He just said the most famous Hitler phrase there is in the world. It’s unacceptable. This is unbelievable.”

Keothovang turned to the crowd and asked: “Who was the smart guy who said that? Who said that? Put your hand up. We’re going to get him out.”

He then announced to the crowd: “Please be fair and respect the players.”

The man suspected of yelling the slur was ejected by security at the end of the game.

Zverev went on to win the match in five sets and afterwards, the 26-year-old told reporters: “He started singing the anthem of Hitler that was back in the day. It was ‘Deutschland uber alles’ and it was a bit too much.”

Jack Draper has been added to Britain’s Davis Cup team for next week’s matches in Manchester following his run to the fourth round of the US Open.

The 21-year-old again showed his huge potential by outperforming the rest of Britain’s singles players in New York, pushing eighth seed Andrey Rublev to four sets before bowing out on Monday.

Draper has struggled with injuries throughout the season and was a doubt for the US Open because of a shoulder problem so it was encouraging that his body held up through four best-of-five-set matches.

He joins Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans, Andy Murray and Neal Skupski in the side for matches against Australia, Switzerland and France beginning next Wednesday at the AO Arena.

It is the second time Leon Smith has called up Draper, who stayed on the bench during February’s victory over Colombia.

His inclusion presents captain Smith with a tricky selection decision given Norrie, Evans and Murray are significantly more experienced but none of the trio have had a great season, with British number one Norrie in particular in something of a rut.

Calling up Draper also indicates that Smith will rely on Wimbledon champion Skupski and Evans as his doubles partnership having overlooked Joe Salisbury, who is in the quarter-finals in New York with American partner Rajeev Ram.

Britain need to finish in the top two of the four-team group to make it through to the final stages of the competition in Malaga in November.

Britain’s Jack Draper’s run at Flushing Meadows was ended by Russian eighth seed Andrey Rublev.

Wimbledon champion Martketa Vodrousova is through to the quarter-finals and will face Madison Keys.

But Ons Jabeur, last year’s runner-up, bowed out 6-2 6-4 to China’s Qinwen Zheng, who will play new world number one Aryna Sabalenka.

Here, the PA news agency looks back at day eight at the US Open.

Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova moved a step closer to back-to-back grand slam titles by beating Peyton Stearns to quarter-finals.

The 24-year-old Czech, seeded ninth here two months after becoming the first unseeded woman to win at SW19, fell a set behind to Stearns.

But the American youngster, whose powerful forehand accounted for Britain’s Katie Boulter in round three, won just five more games as Vondrousova triumphed 6-7 (3) 6-3 6-2.

Jack Draper’s breakthrough run came to an end in the fourth round after a four-set defeat by Russian Rublev.

The British number four, in the second week of a grand slam for the first time, fell 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-4

But Draper’s performances this week will hopefully point to an upward curve in such a promising career hindered by fitness issues.

Forty and counting…

Women: Jessica Pegula (3), Ons Jabeur (5), Daria Kasatkina (13).
Men: Alex De Minaur (13).

The quarter-finals begin with Coco Gauff taking on Iga Swiatek’s conqueror Jelena Ostapenko. Novak Djokovic follows against Taylor Fritz, while in the night session there is an all-American showdown to savour between Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton.

Aryna Sabalenka has achieved one ambition already at the US Open, and now she has the chance to fulfil another dream.

Belarusian Sabalenka, the second seed, found out she will become world number one for the first time next week after Iga Swiatek’s defeat by Jelena Ostapenko on Sunday.

The 25-year-old then moved into the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows after a 6-1 6-3 victory over Daria Kasatkina.

“I had no doubt that Iga was going to make it to the final. I was sad that she lost, but becoming number one means a lot to me,” said Sabalenka.

“I’ve been pushing myself a lot this year to make this goal and I still can’t believe it, but I didn’t want to be distracted for tonight.”

Swiatek’s defeat also means there will be a new women’s champion this year, with Sabalenka the hot favourite.

She will face China’s Qinwen Zheng, who ended the hopes of last year’s runner-up Ons Jabeur, in the last eight.

Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova moved a step closer to back-to-back grand slam titles by beating Peyton Stearns.

The 24-year-old Czech, seeded ninth here two months after becoming the first unseeded woman to win at SW19, fell a set behind to Stearns.

But the American youngster, whose powerful forehand accounted for Britain’s Katie Boulter in round three, won just five more games as Vondrousova triumphed 6-7 (3) 6-3 6-2.

“She was playing great from the beginning and I just tried to stay in the game,” said Vondrousova.

“She is a very dangerous player, she has a great future ahead of her and it was a very tough match.

“I’m very happy. I didn’t expect this, after Wimbledon there was a lot of pressure but I’m feeling good and we’ll see what happens next.”

What happens next is a meeting with Madison Keys, a former Flushing Meadows runner-up who sprung a mild surprise against fellow American Jessica Pegula, the third seed.

Keys, seeded 17, is emulating the form which swept her to the final in 2017 and sunk the highly-fancied Pegula 6-1 6-3.

The 28-year-old said: “It’s always tough having to play a friend but we’ve been doing it all our lives. On court it’s all business but then we go back to being friends.”

Jack Draper is determined to finally put his injuries behind him and prove he can become one of the top players in the world.

Draper’s thrilling run at the US Open came to an end in the fourth round after a four-set defeat by Russian Andrey Rublev.

The British number four, in the second week of a grand slam for the first time, fell 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-4 to eighth seed Rublev.

But Draper’s performances this week will hopefully point to an upward curve in such a promising career hindered by fitness issues.

The 21-year-old has endured an injury-hit year and slipped from a ranking of 38, in January, to outside the top 100.

A shoulder problem saw him miss Wimbledon and also threatened his participation at Flushing Meadows.

Yet despite serving well within himself in a bid to manage the problem, Draper was the only British player to reach the last 16, and he gave combustible Russian Rublev plenty of reasons to vent his spleen in a see-saw contest.

“With the amount of injuries I’ve had and the amount of times I’ve not been able to compete, and I’ve had difficult times in my career, it has honestly been tough to believe I can go all the way in a grand slam right now,” he said.

“It’s not my tennis which is something that is holding me back, it’s my physicality and being able to staying on court consistently.

“Once I do that I think I will prove to myself I will be able to be one of the best players in the world.

“My tennis is right there. I’ve barely played in the last couple of months and I’ve come here, made the fourth round and pushed a top-10 player today.

“If I just can get things right, still be being able to compete and train, I think I can go all the way in this sport, 100 per cent.”

Draper took time to settle as the first set raced away from him; Rublev does not only serve at 125mph but he seems to play at that pace as well.

But he played a brilliant set to level the match and broke again early in the third, only for the lack of court time this year to begin to tell as Rublev eventually triumphed in two hours and 45 minutes.

“The first couple of sets were a battle and I started to struggle physically after I broke him in the third set,” added Draper.

“I gave it all I had mentally, but I was pretty drained. That’s where, now that I’m fit, we can go back to base and try and work each day to be better with that intensity.

“It’s tough when you’ve been out so long and have no feedback. I can train with more intensity now remembering that match and how knackered I was after it.”

Jack Draper’s breakthrough run at the US Open came to an end in the fourth round after a four-set defeat by Russian Andrey Rublev.

The British number four, in the second week of a grand slam for the first time, fell 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-4 to eighth seed Rublev.

But Draper’s performances this week will hopefully point to an upward curve in such a promising career hindered by fitness issues.

The 21-year-old has endured an injury-hit year and slipped from a ranking of 38, in January, to outside the top 100.

A shoulder problem saw him miss Wimbledon and also threatened his participation at Flushing Meadows.

Yet despite serving well within himself in a bid to manage the problem, Draper was the only British player to reach the last 16, and he gave combustible Russian Rublev plenty of reasons to vent his spleen in a see-saw contest.

Draper took time to settle as the first set raced away from him; Rublev does not only serve at 125mph but he seems to play at that pace as well.

He then had to save five break points, punctuating the rallies with complaints to the umpire about the air-conditioning under the Louis Armstrong Stadium roof and the net sensor, to stay on serve at 2-1 in the second.

Then, from out of nowhere at 3-2, Draper cracked a backhand winner down the line to end a fierce rally and bring up break point.

Rublev promptly sent down a double-fault, and was visibly furious with himself, as he gifted Draper a 4-2 lead and, consequently, the second set.

With Rublev now the agitated party, Draper took advantage and broke again at the start of the third with a walloping forehand winner, only to follow it up with a poor service game to let his opponent back in.

The momentum was back with Rublev and he won six of the next seven games to motor away with the third set.

Draper had never won a four-set match until he beat Michael Mmoh on Saturday, and his exertions – as well as his lack of court time this year – seemed to have caught up with him in the fourth.

Rublev took advantage of a weary service game to lead 3-2 and, although Draper saved two match points on serve, and another on his opponent’s, he was unable to avoid slipping to defeat in two hours and 45 minutes.

Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova moved a step closer to back-to-back grand slam titles by beating Peyton Stearns to reach the US Open quarter-finals.

The 24-year-old Czech, seeded ninth here two months after becoming the first unseeded woman to win at SW19, fell a set behind to Stearns.

But the American youngster, whose powerful forehand accounted for Britain’s Katie Boulter in round three, won just five more games as Vondrousova triumphed 6-7 (3) 6-3 6-2.

“She was playing great from the beginning and I just tried to stay in the game,” said Vondrousova.

“She is a very dangerous player, she has a great future ahead of her and it was a very tough match.

“I’m very happy. I didn’t expect this, after Wimbledon there was a lot of pressure but I’m feeling good and we’ll see what happens next.”

What happens next is a meeting with Madison Keys, a former Flushing Meadows runner-up who sprung a mild surprise against fellow American Jessica Pegula, the third seed.

Keys, seeded 17, is emulating the form which swept her to the final in 2017 and sunk the highly-fancied Pegula 6-1 6-3.

The 28-year-old said: “It’s always tough having to play a friend but we’ve been doing it all our lives. On court it’s all business but then we go back to being friends.”

Iga Swiatek’s reign as US Open champion, and world number one, was ended by her nemesis Jelena Ostapenko.

The 22-year-old Pole had not dropped a set on her way to the fourth round, but she had never beaten Ostapenko in three previous career meetings.

Swiatek took the first set with relative ease but then Ostapenko’s sledgehammer of a forehand started finding its mark to level the match.

A one-sided final set saw former French Open champion Ostapenko triumph 3-6 6-3 6-1.

Swiatek’s defeat means that Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus will take over as world number one after the tournament.

Ostapenko will face Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals after the teenager ended the grand slam comeback of mother-of-two Caroline Wozniacki.

The 19-year-old came from a break down in the first and third sets to win both and complete a 6-3 3-6 6-1 victory.

Wozniacki’s return has been one of the stories of New York this year, having come out of retirement after more than three years and two children later.

The 33-year-old former world number one has looked as though she has never been away, but a fired-up Gauff proved just too strong in the deciding set.

Wozniacki got off to a dream start with a break in the first game and a 2-0 lead.

But Gauff quickly got back on the board, levelling at 3-3 before going on to clinch the first set without dropping another game.

Wozniacki cranked up the pressure in the second and Gauff started feeling it as her suspect forehand began to misfire and she was broken for 5-3 as the Dane levelled the match.

Gauff looked uncomfortable as she dropped serve again at the start of the decider, but after pointedly ignoring the advice of coach Brad Gilbert, the wound-up American began firing backhand winners as if they were going out of fashion.

She reeled off the next six games to clinch the victory and let out a loud scream of triumph after converting match point.

“Definitely getting it to 2-1 (in the third set) was the turning point,” said Gauff.

“I got broke and I showed I was still in the match. I started to go for my shots.

“Caroline, it’s like she’s never left, the level she played was amazing. It’s weird because I grew up watching Caroline and when she won the Australian Open, so to be on court with her today was an honour.

“She definitely gets to a lot of balls. I felt a bit like I was playing myself. I knew I had to play aggressive and go for my shots. In some moments I miss but I was happy I could get back and refocus.”

It will be the fifth grand slam quarter-final of Gauff’s still-fledgling career and her second at Flushing Meadows.

“I’ve been in this position before,” she added. “And I think I have confidence in myself that I can go even further.”

Novak Djokovic strolled into the last eight of the US Open with a three-set win over Croatian qualifier Borna Gojo.

Djokovic is now one behind Roger Federer’s record of 58 grand slam quarter-finals after a 6-2 7-5 6-4 victory.

The Serbian second seed got himself out of a minor pickle at 2-0 down in the second set, breaking back and dropping just four points in his next six service games.

A break to love in the third finished 6ft 5in Gojo off with Djokovic going through in two hours and 25 minutes.

Djokovic, bidding for a 24th grand slam title, said: “I knew Borna has a big game. I saw that he played well in the qualifying round.

“I saw that he’s a big-shot player, his serve and forehand are big weapons, he moves pretty well for a big guy, so the key points for me were to neutralise his serve.”

Djokovic has had a very agreeable draw in New York but he faces American ninth seed Taylor Fritz on Tuesday.

He added: “You know, obviously the matches are only going to get tougher from now onwards, and I’m ready.”

Big-serving Ben Shelton blew away fellow American Tommy Paul to lead the home charge into the quarter-finals.

The 20-year-old from Atlanta fired down two 149mph serves in one game on his way to a 6-4 6-3 4-6 6-4 victory.

“I think it was straight adrenaline,” he said. “In any other atmosphere I don’t think I could get it done. I think my arm would fall off, but it’s feeling good right now.”

The record fastest serve at the US Open is still held by Andy Roddick, who hit a 152mph thunderbolt on his way to the title in 2003 – the last time an American man won their home slam.

It was sweet revenge for Shelton, who was knocked out by Paul at the same stage of the Australian Open in January.

He added: “I really learned how to be mentally tough. When I was playing in Australia after a long week, I was looking at my box saying ‘my legs are dead, I’m tired, I can’t go anymore’.

“I realised how important it is to believe in myself, believe that I can go all the way, the full distance emotionally and physically and now I have that belief here.”

Shelton will play 10th seed Frances Tiafoe, guaranteeing at least one American man in the semi-finals.

Tiafoe beat Australian wild card Rinky Hijikata in straight sets, 6-4 6-1 6-4.

“It’s a shame that two of us have to play in the quarter-finals. Maybe we could have three in the semis,” added Shelton.

Fritz beat Dominic Stricker of Switzerland in three sets to make the last eight at Flushing Meadows for the first time.

Teenager Coco Gauff ended the grand-slam comeback of mother-of-two Caroline Wozniacki to reach the quarter-finals of the US Open.

The 19-year-old came from a break down in the first and third sets to win both and complete a 6-3 3-6 6-1 victory.

Wozniacki’s return has been one of the stories of New York this year, having come out of retirement after more than three years and two children later.

The 33-year-old former world number one has looked as though she has never been away, but a fired-up Gauff proved just too strong in the deciding set.

Wozniacki got off to a dream start with a break in the first game and a 2-0 lead.

But Gauff quickly got back on the board, levelling at 3-3 before going on to clinch the first set without dropping another game.

Wozniacki cranked up the pressure in the second and Gauff started feeling it as her suspect forehand began to misfire and she was broken for 5-3 as the Dane levelled the match.

Gauff looked uncomfortable as she dropped serve again at the start of the decider, but after pointedly ignoring the advice of coach Brad Gilbert, the wound-up American began firing backhand winners as if they were going out of fashion.

She reeled off the next six games to clinch the victory and let out a loud scream of triumph after converting match point.

“Definitely getting it to 2-1 (in the third set) was the turning point,” said Gauff.

“I got broke and I showed I was still in the match. I started to go for my shots.

“Caroline, it’s like she’s never left, the level she played was amazing. It’s weird because I grew up watching Caroline and when she won the Australian Open, so to be on court with her today was an honour.

“She definitely gets to a lot of balls. I felt a bit like I was playing myself. I knew I had to play aggressive and go for my shots. In some moments I miss but I was happy I could get back and refocus.”

It will be the fifth grand slam quarter-final of Gauff’s still-fledgling career and her second at Flushing Meadows.

“I’ve been in this position before,” she added. “And I think I have confidence in myself that I can go even further.”