We are once again just one round away from Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal finally meeting at the US Open. Can they win their quarterfinal matches on Wednesday to make this New York tennis dream a reality? On the women’s side, we already have one all-American semifinal, with the potential to have all four semifinalists representing the US at the US Open.
Karolina Pliskova vs. CoCo Vandeweghe
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After struggling in her second and third round matches, Pliskova embarrassed an overwhelmed young American opponent on Monday, losing just one game to Jennifer Brady. But Vandeweghe will not be overwhelmed by this occasion as Brady was. CoCo has embraced the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd over the past week, heavily encouraging them to root her on. She’s already reached one major semifinal this year in Melbourne, and upset top seed Angelique Kerber during that run. She may be poised to eliminate another world number one on Wednesday. Vandeweghe and Pliskova are 2-2 lifetime, and they play similar styles, so there’s really not too much to separate them. Pliskova has struggled with the pressure of being number one, while Vandeweghe loves the big stage and the hometown crowd. Those may be the deciding factors in what should be a big-hitting quarterfinal.
Rafael Nadal vs. Andrey Rublev
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The 19-year-old Rublev is the youngest US Open quarterfinalist since Andy Roddick in 2001. He has thoroughly impressed with two victories over top 10 seeds already in this tournament, ousting both Grigor Dimitrov and David Goffin. The future appears to be very bright for the young Russian, but it’s hard to imagine he’s ready to take out Rafael Nadal in the US Open quarterfinals. Nadal seems to have regained his mojo in easily dispatching of Alexandr Dolgopolov on Monday. Even if Rublev rises to this big occasion and starts off strong, Rafa should be able to grind the youngster down in the best-of-five format. Nadal is a solid favorite to return to the US Open semifinals for the first time in four years.
Madison Keys vs. Kaia Kanepi
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Keys will again return to the night session schedule, where she’s used the support of the late night New York crowd to defeat Elena Vesnina and Elina Svitolina in her last two rounds. Her opponent on Wednesday evening is a shocking quarterfinalist considering what she’s recently been through. Kaia Kanepi is a five-time former major quarterfinalist, but has been through a tough few years since those glory days. The Estonian missed nearly two years of her career while suffering from Epstein-Barr virus as well as plantar fasciitis on both of her feet. Kanepi was ranked outside the top 400 when she arrived in New York. Kaia won three rounds of qualifying to earn her first main draw appearance in two years, and subsequently won four rounds in the main draw to make her sixth major quarterfinal. The bad news for Kanepi? She is 0-5 in five previous major quarterfinals. Kanepi had some luck go her way in the draw, as Keys will be the first seeded player she sees. Madison has the much bigger game and will be the heavy favorite to win here, but keep in mind the 22-year-old American can be extremely streaky. She suffered through some bad patches with many unforced errors in both of her previous rounds, only to recover in time to win in three sets. If Keys can handle the pressure of being the favorite, and continue to use the crowd to inspire her, she should get through to her second major semifinal.
Roger Federer vs. Juan Martin Del Potro
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Wow, Del Potro’s effort to come back from two sets down against Dominic Thiem while severely hampered by a virus was magical. Will he have anything left against the 19-time major champion on Wednesday? It’s hard to believe playing a five-setter is the best road to recovery for Juan Martin. That being said, Federer’s health is also in question. After arriving in New York with a back injury, his movement has been much better in his last two matches, but he did take an injury timeout for some treatment during his fourth round match on Monday. Federer leads their head-to-head 16-5, with Roger winning their last three encounters. Del Potro has played spoiler before in dashing the hopes of those hoping for Federer to face Nadal in New York, when he defeated Nadal in the 2009 semifinals. He also went on to defeat Federer in the 2009 final to win his only major title. Let’s hope both men are feeling good and can raise this match close to the level of their last US Open encounter. And as hard as it is to root against Juan Martin, the tennis world will be keeping their fingers crossed for the much anticipated Roger/Rafa semifinal.
