US Open Day 9 Preview: The Quarterfinals Begin

Can Serena win her record-tying 24th Major? If Rafa wins this title, he’ll be just two Majors behind Federer for the first time since Roger won his first two. And Novak could tie Pete Sampras with his 14th Major. Despite Federer’s exit, there’s a lot of history on the line in New York.

Karolina Pliskova vs. Serena Williams

When these two big ball-strikers met in the semifinals of the Open in 2016, it was Pliskova prevailing in straight sets, just a few days after Karolina took out Serena’s sister Venus in a third set tiebreak. You know Serena will be determined to get revenge. And it was abundantly clear on Sunday how much Williams still wants to win, as she roared her way to a three-set victory over Kaia Kanepi, who had outhit Serena in the second set. 2018 has been a disappointing year for Pliskova up to this point, with this quarterfinal matching her best result at a Major this season. She’s been working with Rennae Stubbs, but with Stubbs doing television commentary at this tournament, Conchita Martinez was added to her coaching team for this fortnight. Of course the last time Martinez coached a player at a Grand Slam event, she coached Garbine Muguruza to the Wimbledon title last year. Martinez, a former Wimbledon champion herself, could be a significant factor in this contest. Still, after seeing the tenacity and determination in Serena’s game through four rounds, I’m not betting against her.

Sloane Stephens vs. Anastasija Sevastova

Embed from Getty Images
Much like Pliskova, Sevastova is into the US open quarterfinals for the third straight year, the only Major where Anastasija has advanced this far. She’s 0-2 at this stage, but gave Stephens all she could handle in last year’s quarterfinals. Sloane was down a break in third set before coming back to defeat Sevastova in a final set tiebreak. Sevastova would get the better of Stephens just a month later in Zhuhai. And they met again last month in Montreal, with Sloane getting an easy win. Anastasija is a really enjoyable player to watch, with a lot of variety and slices in her game. She can drive opponents bonkers, as she effectively did against Elina Svitolina in the last round. Sevastova ran away with the third set 6-0 on Sunday. Despite that, I expect Stephens to get through this one. Sloane has played better and better as this tournament has progressed, and she is fully aware of what to expect from the tricky Latvian.

Rafael Nadal vs. Dominic Thiem

Embed from Getty Images
This is a rematch of the Roland Garros final from earlier this year, a match Nadal won in straightforward fashion. Thiem does own three victories over Nadal out of their 10 encounters, though those were all outside of Grand Slam events. And all 10 of those matches took place on clay, not surprising considering these have been the two most successful clay courter players of the past three years. Normally, it would be safe to assume Nadal would have less of an advantage removed from the terra baute, but that may not be the case here. This is actually the first time Thiem has been to the quarterfinals at a non-clay Major. Like Nadal, he’s surely enjoyed the slower-playing courts this year in New York. Thiem played his most impressive match in quite some time on Sunday in taking out last year’s finalist, Kevin Anderson, in straight sets. Nadal has been tested thoroughly in his last two matches, spending nearly eight hours on court. However, he’ll still be a strong favorite against Thiem. As many have pointed out over the years, Nadal’s high-bouncing balls make life extremely difficult for players with one-handed backhands. Thiem will have to play lights-out tennis, with a large number of winners, to give himself a chance.

Juan Martin Del Potro vs. John Isner

Embed from Getty Images
No one has played better through four rounds of the Open than Del Potro, who is yet to drop a set. Isner however is having the best season of his career, with his victory over Del Potro in the semifinals of Miami helping to jumpstart his year. The 33-year-old of course went on to take the title in Miami, the biggest tournament he’s ever won. Del Potro though got revenge in the fourth round of the French Open, breaking Isner in every set and winning in straights. Isner’s into his second straight Major quarterfinal, and it’s the second time he’s done so in New York. The American has successfully used the US Open crowd’s energy thus far, but he won’t have as much of a home crowd advantage here. As we’ve seen in the past few years, Del Potro has some very vocal Argentinians at all of his matches in New York. This will be Isner’s first match this year on Arthur Ashe Stadium, a court he often requests to avoid, as reported by ESPN in the US. Considering that, as well as Del Potro’s current form, Juan Martin will likely find himself in the US Open semifinals for the second consecutive year.