Qinwen Zheng referenced Aryna Sabalenka's "mountain" quote with an Instagram post following their Italian Open quarterfinal match.

Zheng Qinwen earned her first victory over top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-3 on Wednesday to set up an Italian Open semifinal match against Coco Gauff.

Zheng Qinwen has expressed her relief after she beat her nemesis Aryna Sabalenka at the seventh time of asking at the Italian Open, saying: “Finally, I broke through.” The Olympic gold medallist was a 6-4, 6-3 winner over the world No 1 in the quarter-finals in Rome on Wednesday, in what was her first-ever victory over the Belarusian.