Labor Day weekend and the Summer months may be behind us but the US Open is just heating up. We break down what you need to know (and what you may have missed while you were busy getting a suntan this weekend) about the men’s and women’s quarterfinal draw as well as who still has work to do.
The Men’s Draw
- Probably the most gut wrenching and potentially meaningful match of the weekend actually finished Tuesday morning. Kei Nishikori was able to overcome Milos Raonic in a grueling 5 setter in their 4th round matchup, avenging his loss at Wimbledon. Nishikori may have caught Raonic on the right night (not to say Raonic couldn’t have easily won this match) with the Canadian’s best weapon, his serve, operating below his lofty standards (55% 1st serve percentage, 10 double faults). This is Nishikori’s first quarterfinals, a huge step for a young player who has been pushing the top ten for the better part of a year. He’ll have a tough test in the form of hard court specialist Stan Wawrinka. Wawrinka has beaten him in their only two meetings, but both were back in 2012. Don’t be surprised if this goes to five.
- The matchup of the quarterfinals will surely be between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. These two heavyweights aren’t used to meeting each other this early, but Murray’s struggles in 2014 have given us a prime time matchup a few rounds early. Djokovic has beaten Murray the last 4 times they have played on hard courts but Murray has looked good after a rocky start to his tournament. His victory over Tsonga in the fourth round was a comprehensive demolition that saw Murray pull off highlight reel shots such as the one below. Be sure to tune in for this one Wednesday night
- There are still four matches to be played to decide the final quarterfinal spots, and there is a good mix of familiar and new names present. I fully expect Federer and Berdych to roll in their respective matches (shout out to Berdych’s opponent, the 21-year-old Austrian Dominic Thiem, who has beaten the likes of Feliciano Lopez and Ernests Gulbis to get to the fourth round) but the other two matchups from this side of the draw are more wide open.
- Two counter punchers, Grigor Dimitrov and Gael Monfils, go head-to-head today in what could turn out to be one of the matches of the tournament. They’ve played before at the US Open, the highlight in a lopsided Monfils win being Grigor’s awkward attempt at a post-match kiss (show below). Hopefully he’s more composed this time around. In the last final fourth round matchup, Marin Cilic and Gilles Simon (who handily beat the fourth seeded David Ferrer) will both be eager to make the quarters. Cilic is a two-time quarterfinalist at the US Open while Simon will surely leave it all on the court to get to make it the round of eight of a Grand Slam for the first time since 2009. I tipped Cilic to make a run to the semis in Flushing so I’ll stick to my guns.
The Women’s Draw
- The women’s side of the draw has been defined by upsets. The two unlikeliest of quarter finalists are on the complete opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to their current career arcs. The 17-year-old Belinda Bencic, who we highlighted as one of the top junior players in the world back in February, finds herself up against Shuai Peng who has been on tour since 2001. Both are in their first quarterfinals so expect both to be slightly anxious at the start. I expect the teen, who impressively beat two top 10 players in round 3 and 4 (higlights of her win over Kankovic below), to make it to the semis.
- Former top 5 talents Ekaterina Makarova and Victoria Azarenka play later today in what is sure to be a hard fought contest. Azarenka has yet to make a semifinal this year while Makarova has never made it to the final four. Azarenka holds a 3-2 lifetime matchup advantage but in the only match between the two since 2011 Makarova was victorious in three sets. Don’t be surprised if there is a repeat of this result.
- Two Italians, Flavia Pannetta and Sara Errani have made it to the quarters but theres a good chance no Italians will be standing come the semifinals. They face off against Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki respectively, both of whom have been on a tear. Wozniacki pulled off the upset of the 5th seeded Wimbledon Champ Maria Sharapova, while Serena has been unmercifully beating down her fellow Americans. I expect the two higher seeds to advance.
