Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem and John Isner advanced into the quarter-finals of US Open Tennis championship. Serena Williams survived a scare from giant-killer Kaia Kanepi to claim a roller-coaster 6-0 4-6 6-3 win in New York and move into the quarter-finals, a step closer to a record-equalling 24th career Grand Slam title.
Almost there…@serenawilliams will step to the line at 5-3 to serve for a spot in QF!#USOpen pic.twitter.com/8aiu6EZcGR
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 2, 2018
Following a shock upset of world number one Simona Halep in the first round, the 44th-ranked Kanepi had looked a potential trouble spot for the six-times US Open champion.
Any tension inside a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium, however, was quickly eased as a ruthless Williams stormed through the opening set in 18 minutes for the loss of a measly six points.
But in a bizarre twist in momentum, fans suddenly found themselves back on the edge of their seats as the Estonian opened the second with a break and broke Williams again to go up 5-2 before holding off a late rally from the 17th seed to level the match.
Just as quickly as the momentum had swung to Kanepi in the second set it returned to Williams in the third as normal service resumed with the 36-year-old American breaking her opponent at the first opportunity and jumping out to a 3-0 lead before cruising into the last eight.
Meanwhile, top seed Rafael Nadal set up an intriguing U.S. Open quarter-final showdown with Dominic Thiem after snuffing out a comeback attempt by Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili with a 6-3 6-3 6-7(6) 6-4 win in New York.
The world number one looked like he would cruise to an easy win after pocketing the first two sets but the Georgian stepped up his game to take the third. The U.S. Open champion would not be denied, however, and fired his seventh ace on match point to end the three hours, 20-minute tussle.
WILD scenes on Louis Armstrong:
We've got the doubles point of the day coming in hot from Jaziri/Albot against Harrison/Harrison…#USOpen pic.twitter.com/QL8AR3f2sy
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 3, 2018
Nadal said he will need to raise his game to get past the red-hot Dominic Thiem, who reached his first U.S. Open quarter-finals. Ninth seed Dominic Thiem continued his bid for a first Grand Slam title toppling last year’s runner-up Kevin Anderson 7-5 6-2 7-6(2) to reach the U.S. Open quarter-finals.
Thiem, a finalist at this year’s French Open, neutralized the 6-foot-8 Anderson’s blistering serve by standing far beyond the baseline and he chased down everything the South African could throw at him. The Austrian played a near flawless match, dropping just four points on his first serve and firing 42 winners.
John Isner ground out yet another five-set win at the U.S. Open beating Milos Raonic 3-6 6-3 6-4 3-6 6-2 to advance to the quarter-finals of his home Grand Slam for the second time.
The American fired 56 winners and 20 aces to down the former world number three in front of a rowdy, elated crowd inside the refurbished Louis Armstrong Stadium. Isner endured a five-set bout in the second round and a three-hour 26-minute slog in the third but the eleventh seed showed few signs of fatigue.
In today’s match, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will be one step away from a mouth-watering quarter-final clash when the U.S. Open resumes today. Federer, the second seed, takes on Australian John Millman in the last 16 in the day’s final match at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, while sixth-seeded Djokovic faces unseeded Portuguese Joao Sousa in the day session.
Federer won his only other career meeting with Millman in three sets in Brisbane three years ago while Djokovic, the Wimbledon champion, has never lost to Sousa in four meetings.
Men’s seventh seed Marin Cilic, who came through a marathon five-setter against Australian teenager Alex de Minaur on Saturday, resumes his quest for a second U.S. Open crown against Belgian 10th seed David Goffin.
In women’s action, last year’s runner-up Madison Keys opens on Arthur Ashe against Slovakian 29th seed Dominika Cibulkova. A fifth consecutive career victory over Cibulkova will see Keys meet either Maria Sharapova or Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro in the quarter-finals.
Russian Sharapova, the 2006 champion, has had three straight sets victories so far and has only ever lost one of her five previous meetings with Suarez Navarro. Sharapova kicks off the evening session on Arthur Ashe, having never lost any of her 22-night matches in New York.