World No. 2 Sabalenka defeated Olympic champion and seventh seed Zheng 6-1, 6-2, to make a statement.
That happened after, in front of a biased New York audience, American Navarro overcame a 5-1 second-set hole to defeat Paula Badosa of Spain 6-2 7-5.
The Belarusian Sabalenka made it to the championship game last year but lost to Coco Gauff; nonetheless, she is in excellent condition and could win another Slam championship to add to her two Australian Open victories.
Navarro won their only hard-court encounter at Indian Wells, but she defeated him in just five games in the French Open’s fourth round in June.
In a playful gesture, Sabalenka promised to pay beverages for the audience if they cheered her on during Thursday’s semifinal matchup with Navarro.
