New York (AFP) – World number one Jannik Sinner and former champion Daniil Medvedev set up a US Open quarter-final showdown on Monday as both men look to exploit the hole left by the shock exits of Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.
Australian Open champion Sinner made the last eight for the second time by seeing off US 14th seed Tommy Paul 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/5), 6-1. Medvedev, the 2021 champion and runner-up to Djokovic last year, outclassed Portugal’s Nuno Borges 6-0, 6-1, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals for the fifth time in six years.
Women’s world number one Iga Swiatek, meanwhile, stayed on course for a sixth Grand Slam title with a straight-sets win over Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova. The Italian Sinner recovered from 4-1 down in the first set to see off Paul, who had been hoping to join compatriots Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe in the quarter-finals in New York.
“It will be another tough match with Daniil. There will be a lot of rallies so I have to be ready physically,” said Sinner. Medvedev is the only former champion left after the first week defeats of four-time winner Djokovic and 2022 champion Alcaraz. The world number five easily downed 34th-ranked Borges, whose challenge fizzled out under the weight of 51 unforced errors while Medvedev broke serve eight times.
Sinner and Medvedev will be meeting for the fourth time this year. Sinner came back from two sets to love down to defeat the mercurial Russian in the Australian Open final and came out on top in the Miami semi-finals. Medvedev then triumphed at Wimbledon in a five-set quarter-final.
“I will try to think more about Wimbledon than the Australian Open,” said Medvedev. “With Jannik, I feel like we know our games, what we will try to bring to the table, and then it comes to always this moment’s deuce, breakpoint, maybe try to surprise him or not, what he will do, what I will do.”
Jack Draper became the first British man since Andy Murray in 2016 to reach the quarter-finals by seeing off Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-1, 6-2. The 22-year-old left-hander has only dropped serve once over four matches on his way to a maiden Slam quarter-final, winning 47 of 48 service games and saving 20 of 21 break points.
Draper hailed the influence of Murray, the former world number one and 2012 US Open champion who retired from tennis following the Paris Olympics. “He’s a legend and an icon and if I have half the career that he had I will be a happy man,” said the 25th seed, who goes on to face Alex de Minaur. The 10th-seeded De Minaur won an all-Australian battle with Jordan Thompson 6-0, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Four-time French Open winner Swiatek, the 2022 champion in New York, celebrated her 100th Grand Slam match by cantering to a 6-4, 6-1 win over 16th-ranked Samsonova. The Pole will take on American sixth seed Jessica Pegula for a place in the semi-finals.
“There will be some long rallies and intense hitting,” predicted Swiatek of facing Pegula, who she also beat in the quarter-finals on her way to the title two years ago. Pegula made the last eight for the second time with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Russia’s Diana Shnaider.
Beatriz Haddad Maia became the first Brazilian woman to reach the quarter-finals since Maria Bueno in 1968 when she defeated 2014 runner-up Caroline Wozniacki. The 22nd-ranked left-hander converted a third match point to defeat the former world number one 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. She will next face 2023 semi-finalist Karolina Muchova, who knocked out French Open and Wimbledon runner-up Jasmine Paolini, the fifth seed, 6-3, 6-3. Muchova, ranked 52 and who only returned to the tour in June after 10 months out with a wrist injury, has yet to drop a set and knocked out two-time champion Naomi Osaka in the second round.
© 2024 AFP
