Zheng's Grand plan off to scintillating start

Teenager stuns another major champ to show title dream may not be far off

Asked before the US Open when she might land her first major trophy, Zheng Qinwen rolled her eyes, grinned and replied to her CGTN interviewer: "May I say here this year?"

That may have sounded overambitious for a debutant to some. However, on Tuesday the Chinese teen star made a very convincing case that she could realize that wild dream, taking out a former Grand Slam champion in the opening round of her main-draw debut at Flushing Meadows.

Firing a disruptive barrage of 21 aces, Zheng outplayed Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the 2017 French Open champion, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 on Tuesday to send the Chinese fans in the stands at Court 4 to their feet.