NEW YORK: Second seed Ashleigh Barty’s US Open bid came crashing down when she lost 6-2 6-4 to China’s Wang Qiang in the fourth round on Sunday.
Wang had never taken a set off the former world number one in two previous matches and looked to be in trouble after Australian Barty started with a dominant performance on serve.
But 18th seed Wang kept her composure and took advantage of 25 more unforced errors by Barty to reach the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time.
The 27-year-old will next face either Serena Williams or Petra Marci, who play their fourth-round match later on Sunday.