Monday at the US Open will see a mixture of familiar faces and rising stars fight for a place in the last eight of the New York major. Naomi Osaka takes on Aryna Sabalenka in the battle of the 20-year-olds and former champion Marin Cilic locks horns with David Goffin.
Here are the five matches not to miss on the eighth day of the tournament.
Naomi Osaka vs. Aryna Sabalenka
I can’t wait to watch these red-hot, rising stars face off. Osaka has certainly been the more accomplished of the two over the past few years. This is the ninth time in the last 12 Majors Naomi has advanced to the third round or better. Her first title came earlier this year, and it was a big one: the Premier Mandatory event at Indian Wells. With Coach Sasha Bajin by her side, she’s now a top 20 player. In her third round match on Saturday, she didn’t lose one game to Aliaksandra Sasnovich, who is no slouch. She won 75% of the points in that 50-minute blowout. Through three rounds in New York, she hasn’t dropped a set, and has only lost seven games in her six sets played. Her opponent’s success has come much more recently. Sabalenka had only one match win at a Major prior to this tournament, though she certainly showed signs of her potential success throughout this year. She was a finalist in Lugano and Eastbourne, but really came into her own just in the past few weeks. Aryna has defeated six top 10 players in the past month, highlighted by her semifinal appearance in Cincinnati, and her first WTA title in New Haven. In a task that is hard to accomplish, she hit Petra Kvitova right off the court in her last round. Like Osaka, she has a strong coach who has helped her to elevate her game, in former ATP player Dmitry Tursunov. In their first career meeting, both Naomi and Aryna are looking to make their first Major quarterfinal. Sabalenka has been the steadier performer of late, but if Osaka continues her form of the first week, she’ll be extremely challenging to beat. With both at 20 years of age, and so much expected of both these young athletes, this could be a rivalry that defines the WTA for many years to come.
Marin Cilic vs. David Goffin
On the heels of the Anderson/Thiem match from yesterday, this is another fourth round between two top 10 seeds. Cilic of course survived the match of the tournament thus far in his last round. In a third round epic that went until 2:22am, he came back from two sets down, and persevered despite having seven match points saved by his electrifying opponent, 19-year-old Alex de Minaur. Goffin’s advancement to this stage has involved much less fanfare, and he’s yet to face a seeded player until now. Following a great run through the end of 2017, Goffin was setback this year by a freak eye injury. He’s finally gotten some momentum going, with his defeats of Juan Martin Del Potro and Kevin Anderson on his way to the semifinals in Cincinnati. Cilic also had a solid US Open Series, making the quarters in Toronto and the semis in Cincinnati, losing to Nadal and Djokovic, respectively. Goffin won their first three meetings, but Cilic won their last two, though they’ve never played before at a Major. Marin should benefit from having just faced an opponent with a very similar style to David’s. However, I’m sure Cilic will not be fully fresh coming off such a late, draining encounter. Goffin has never been further than this round in New York, so Cilic’s prior success in The Big Apple could be a significant factor.
Madison Keys vs. Dominika Cibulkova
Keys impressed me with her come-from-behind victory on Saturday against a tricky opponent in Aleksandra Krunic, who had defeated her before at the US Open. I’ve been critical of Keys in the past regarding her lack of a plan B when her offense isn’t working, but she made some nice adjustments against Krunic. However, the ultra-competitive Cibulkova will be another considerable challenge, especially coming off her win over Wimbledon Champion Angelique Kerber. I would assume Madison is happy to find Dominika at this stage rather than Angelique. Keys is 2-7 against Kerber, but 4-0 against Cibulkova. The American has only dropped one set in her career to Cibulkova, with all their matches taking place on hard courts. Dominika doesn’t have quite the defensive skills of a Kerber, and can’t match the power of Keys. I like Madison’s chances to return to the US Open quarterfinals. But if Madison tightens up, as she can be prone to do, Cibulkova will not hesitate to take advantage.
Maria Sharapova vs. Carla Suarez Navarro
Sharapova played her best match of the tournament thus far in easily disposing of an error-prone Jelena Ostapenko on Saturday night. This will also be a night match, which leans heavily in Maria’s favor. Sharapova is an astounding 22-0 in night matches at the US Open. Another record in her favor is the one she owns against her opponent: 4-1 lifetime. Suarez Navarro’s only victory came four years ago in Canada. Carla can be a tricky opponent though, and is a fierce competitor. That was clearly evident in her upset of Caroline Garcia in the third round, outlasting the Frenchwoman in a third set tiebreak. The 29-year-old from Spain is into the fourth round in New York for a third straight year, and was a quarterfinalist in 2013. That’s one of six times she’s made a Major quarterfinal, which also includes the Australian Open earlier this year. While Sharapova looked strong in her last match, she’s rarely been able to put together back-to-back quality wins since her comeback last year. And Carla will likely put Maria into positions on the court she’s not fully comfortable with. Despite their head-to-head, and Sharapova’s record at night, I would not be shocked to see Suarez Navarro pull off the win.
Kei Nishikori vs. Phillipp Kohlschreiber
Both men are coming off impressive wins and some high-quality tennis in their last rounds. Nishikori traded blows over four enthralling sets with Diego Schwartzman, who is rarely an easy out. And Kohlschreiber upset his much-younger countryman, Sascha Zverev, also in four sets. The 34-year-old German finds himself in the fourth round of the US Open for the fifth time in the past seven years. The issue is he’s never been farther. And coming off a huge upset of the fourth seed, a letdown would be expected. Also not in Kohlschreiber’s favor? He’s 0-2 against Nishikori, and has never gotten past four games in any set they’ve played. While this should be an entertaining baseline battle, it should be smooth sailing for Kei to get to his third US Open quarterfinal out of his last four appearances.
Other notable matches on Day 8:
- Novak Djokovic vs. Joao Sousa, and Roger Federer vs. John Millman. Both Sousa and Millman are making their round of 16 debuts at a Major. If Djokovic and Federer win, they’ll play on Wednesday.
- 29-year-old Leisa Tsurenko vs. 19-year-old Marketa Vondoursova, both vying for their first Major quarterfinal.
Order of play (time in GMT)
ARTHUR ASHE
Day Session (5pm)
M. Keys (USA) [14] vs. D. Cibulkova (SVK) [29]
Not Before – 7pm
N. Djokovic (SRB) [6] vs. J. Sousa (POR)
Night Session (12am)
C. Suarez Navarro (ESP) [30] vs. M. Sharapova (RUS) [22]
J. Millman (AUS) vs. R. Federer (SUI) [2]
LOUIS ARMSTRONG – 4PM
K. Nishikori (JPN) [21] vs. P. Kohlschreiber (GER)
A. Sabalenka (BLR) [26] vs. N. Osaka (JPN) [20]
Not Before – 9pm
M. Cilic (CRO) [7] vs. D. Goffin (BEL) [10]
GRANDSTAND – 4PM
M. Vondrousova (CZE) vs. L. Tsurenko (UKR)
