They rolled into the semi-finals of the ongoing Australian Open 2023 mixed doubles event after the duo was handed a walkover in their quarters clash at Melbourne Park on Tuesday
The world number 45 sent shockwaves in Rod Laver Arena by defeating the number 30 seed Pliskova in just 87 minutes to keep the Polish representation in the tournament going after current world number 1 Iga Swiatek crashed out in the round of 16
The two-time Australian Open champion produced a stunning performance to book a place in the semifinals, beating Pegula 6-4, 6-1 in a match that lasted for one hour and 37 minutes.
Zhu was praised by her Belarus opponent after the match. The number 87 Zhu was making her first-ever appearance in the second week of a major tournament
The encounter between both last year's quarterfinalists was a highly anticipated one but it was Pegula who prevailed over the 2021 Roland Garros champion after a match that lasted one hour and 41 minutes
Rybakina produced a sublime game, defeating World No. 1 Swiatek 6-4, 6-4 in a match which lasted for an hour and a half to make her first Australian Open quarterfinal.
In the pre-quarters, Swiatek will take on last season's Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, who defeated the previous year's runners-up Danielle Collins 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 in their third-round match-up
Along with the reigning US Open champion, Ostrava features four of the WTA Tour Top 10 and a total of seven major champions, including Elena Rybakina, Emma Raducanu, and Jelena Ostapenko.
Osaka has received a wild card into a court that already includes Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, World No.5 Ons Jabeur, American teen Coco Gauff and 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu.
The No. 17 seed Rybakina created history by becoming the first-ever Asian Wimbledon champion, defeating Jabeur of Tunisia in the final in of women's singles category.