ARYNA SABALENKA has inched closer to her first US Open title after breezing into the semi-final.

The world number two, who was beaten at Flushing Meadows last year by Coco Gauff, proved to be too much for Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng to handle in a repeat of the Australian Open final in Melbourne.

The Belarusian was victorious, getting the better of her Chinese opponent with a final score of 6-1 6-2.