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By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday September 7, 2020


The quarterfinals are set at the US Open, so let’s take a quick look at all eight matchups, starting with the women.

Jennifer Brady v Yulia Putintseva It’s been a banner season for the 25-year-old American. She started the year with a win over world No.1 Ash Barty and really hasn’t stopped building momentum since. Can she keep it going against the World No.35 from Kazakhstan? Putintseva has more experience in Grand Slam quarterfinals (0-2) but Brady seems more ready for the moment.

Key Stat: Brady has yet to drop a set.

Naomi Osaka v Shelby Rogers Naomi Osaka is rounding into form in New York, and apparently her left hamstring is holding up just fine. If injuries aren’t stopping the 2018 champion in New York, can American Shelby Rogers? Rogers has won all three times she has faced Osaka, but they haven’t met since 2017. A lot has changed since then.

Key Stat: Rogers saved four match points to defeat Petra Kvitova in the round of 16.

Serena Williams v Tsvetana Pironkova It’s a battle of moms in the lower half. Six-time Open champion Serena Williams will look to continue her run after knocking off Maria Sakkari in three tight sets on Monday when she faces Tsvetana Pironkova, who continued her Cinderella run in the round of 16 with a hard-fought victory over Alizé Cornet. Williams will be heavily favored against the unranked Bulgarian and, as long as she can avoid to many backhand-to-back rallies with that beautiful backhand of Pironkova, she should get through easily.

Key Stat: Williams and Pironkova have met four times with Williams winning all four times and taking all four sets they've played on hard courts. Pironkova was out of tennis for over three years after giving birth to her child. She's one of three mothers in the quarterfinals.

Victoria Azarenka v Elise Mertens Victoria Azarenka has been resurgent in her first trip to a Grand Slam quarterfinal since the pre-Leo days in 2016. Elise Mertens is going to be riding high after blasting past No.2-seeded Sofia Kenin on Monday night in New York. Mertens is into her second consecutive quarterfinal in New York and has not dropped a set. The pair have never met.

Key Stat: Azarenka has now won nine straight matches. The Belarusian has won 22 of her 38 return games and converted 22 of her 45 break points through four rounds.

Key Stat:

Men’s Quarterfinals

Pablo Carreno Busta v Denis Shapovalov 29-year-old Pablo Carreno Busta is the oldest player remaining in the draw in a US Open quarterfinal field that features no former Grand Slam champions. The Spaniard owns the 3-1 edge over Shapovalov and he was the player that ended the Canadian’s run to the round of 16 in 2017. Shapovalov is a more experienced player now. Will he be able to use that experience to get the win?

Key Stat: Carreno Busta has won 63 percent (78/123) of his second serve return points.

Borna Coric v Alexander Zverev Croatia’s Coric has reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal in a tournament that saw him save six match points in his third-round match against Stefanos Tsitsipas. He’ll square off with Alexander Zverev in a matchup that has been quite favorable for him in the past. He owns a 3-1 lead over the German and even took him down in 2017 at the US Open in round two.

Key Stat: Zverev's 74 aces leads all remaining players, as do his 29 double faults.

Daniil Medvedev v Andrey Rublev An all-Russian affair between last year’s runner-up Daniil Medvedev and his very good friend Andrey Rublev should be an interesting one. These two have history that goes way back to their junior days, and don't sleep on the lower-ranked player of the two -- Rublev is truly a player on the rise. But something about the way that Medvedev has trounced everybody he has played in New York, and his 2-0 record against Rublev, says that he’ll have the edge when they meet on Wednesday.

Key Stat: Medvedev leads all remaining men's singles players in service games won (94 percent) and percentage of second-serve points won (61 percent).

Dominic Thiem v Alex de Minaur Thiem truly caught fire on Day 8 as he blasted past Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets, his offensive game clicking on all cylinders. Now it’s up to speed demon Alex de Minaur to contend with the burly game of the No.2 seed. De Minaur likes the fast courts at the US Open, and he’s played well here historically, but can the 21-year-old really contend with the Austrian’s firepower?

Key Stat: Thiem has taken six of seven sets against De Minaur. 

 

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