Zheng Qinwen of China celebrates after winning the women's singles quarterfinal against Anna Kalinskaya of Russia at Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Jan 24, 2024. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

MELBOURNE - China's top-ranked tennis player Zheng Qinwen reached her maiden Grand Slam semifinal after a comeback victory over unseeded Anna Kalinskaya at the Australian Open on Wednesday.

Zheng fought back 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-1 in a tense night session quarterfinal at the Rod Laver Arena.

The 21-year-old Zheng will start as the favorite against Ukraine qualifier Dayana Yastremska in the semifinals as expectations build for Chinese tennis' biggest star.

Yastremska earlier beat unseeded Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-4 in 78 minutes.

Zheng Qinwen of China hits a return during the women's singles quarterfinal against Anna Kalinskaya of Russia at Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Jan 24, 2024. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

"I told myself to stay focused. I'm really happy to be in the semifinals," said Zheng, who emerged victorious after two hours and 20 minutes.

Zheng showed no signs of nerves in her second Grand Slam quarterfinal and broke in the opening game. But she was unable to consolidate her lead in a see-saw of a first set against the Russian.

Zheng again failed to consolidate a break as Kalinskaya grew in confidence and drew first blood by winning a tight tiebreak.

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But Zheng regrouped in the second set with the pivotal break in the eighth game before drawing level. 

Anna Kalinskaya of Russia plays a forehand return to Zheng Qinwen of China during their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis championships at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, on Jan 24, 2024.  (PHOTO / AP)

A confident Zheng raced through the deciding set to continue defying an unpredictable women's tournament, in which the Chinese is the only seeded player left in her half of the draw for the quarterfinals.

The 12th seed is living up to the hype after a breakout season last year yielded two titles and a spectacular run to the quarterfinal at the US Open.

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Zheng will become the second player from the Chinese mainland to make her top-10 debut when the WTA rankings are updated next Monday, as she remains on track to emulate her hero Li Na, who memorably won the Australian Open a decade ago.

In addition to her semifinal appearance at the Australian Open, Zheng has made three finals within the last 12 months, lifting the first WTA titles of her career at the WTA 250 Palermo Ladies Open and then on home soil at the WTA 500 Zhengzhou Open, while she also posted a runner-up finish at the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai.