The scary part of the rest of the remaining field at the Miami Open is that Aryna Sabalenka has yet to play her best. Her 80 percent is better than seemingly anyone else's, and Qinwen Zheng learned that in the fourth round on Monday.
The issue for Zheng is that she was playing poorly for much of the first set and was setting herself up for an easy defeat. She made one unforced error after another, so that the WTA No. 1 didn't have to beat Zheng because the Chinese player was busy beating herself.
She did get a moment's respite late in the first set when she got a break, but that only extended the obvious. Sabalenka was going to take set one and do so by a far margin, which she did 6-2. At least the late break gave Zheng a bit of confidence that maybe the rest of the match would be easier.
Aryna Sabalenka defeats Qinwen Zheng to get to the quarterfinals at the 2026 Miami Open
The hope didn't last long. As great champions do, Sabalenka made sure that her opponent didn't gain any momentum. The Belarusian held serve to open the set and then got another break off Zheng to lead 2-0 and up a set. At that point, it appeared that the question wasn't whether Sabalenka would beat the former WTA No. 4, but by how much.
Sabalenka consolidated the break by holding serve and taking a 3-0 advantage. At this point, she was playing the best tennis of the match, the kind that is untouchable for any player on tour on a hard court when facing the Belarusian. She might not always be perfect, and loses too many finals, but she is more consistent than others on tour and at a much higher level.
To be fair to Zheng, she did tighten the match a bit. She even led 0-40 with the match at 2-4, but she couldn't take advantage as Sabalenka hit some bombastic serves and forehands to storm back on hold. After a Zheng hold to get to 4-5, the ending seemed destined.
Aryna Sabalenka simply kept taking advantage of unforced errors from Qinwen Zheng's forehand, and the Chinese player could do nothing to offset that. At 5-4, the WTA No. 1 held with ease to move onto the quarterfinals, winning 6-3, 6-4. She will next play Hailey Baptiste in a match that should feature a lot of heavy hitting.