September 7, 2021
NEW YORK (Reuters) – World number one Novak Djokovic continued his quest for a calendar year Grand Slam after weathering an early storm against Jenson Brooksby to reach the U.S. Open quarter-finals, while Greece’s Maria Sakkari ousted 2019 champion Bianca Andreescu.
Djokovic dug deep under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium, overcoming a poor first set to see off local wildcard Brooksby 1-6 6-3 6-2 6-2 and set up a clash with Italian sixth seed Matteo Berrettini in a rematch of the Wimbledon final.
The result means there are no American men or women in the singles quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows for the first time.
“We’re going to play the third Grand Slam in a row against each other. Hopefully the result will be the same like the previous two,” the top-ranked Serbian said.
Sakkari, the 17th seed, prevailed 6-7(2) 7-6(6) 6-3 in a dramatic three-and-a-half hour contest against Andreescu and will take on Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Pliskova who advanced after a 7-5 6-4 win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Olympic champions Alexander Zverev and Belinda Bencic also advanced to the next round, the fourth-seeded German extending his winning streak to 15 matches after a 6-4 6-4 7-6(7) victory over Italian Jannik Sinner.
Switzerland’s Bencic beat seventh seed Iga Swiatek 7-6(12) 6-3 and next faces British teenager Emma Raducanu, who continued her dream run with a dominant 6-2 6-1 win over American Shelby Rogers to reach her first Grand Slam quarter-final.
“I feel like I’m building with each match,” Raducanu said. “I’m really excited to see what I can do on Wednesday. Belinda’s a great player who’s in great form so I know I’m going to have to bring it.”
Second seeds Daniil Medvedev and Aryna Sabalenka play their quarter-final matches on Tuesday, taking on Dutch qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp and French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova, respectively.
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Auger-Aliassime breaks down Tiafoe’s defences to reach quarters
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Fearless Fernandez knocks out another champion to reach quarter-finals
Speedy Medvedev makes quick work of Evans in U.S. Open fourth round
Qualifier Van de Zandschulp tames Argentine battler to reach quarters
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Nobody beats Shelby Rogers six times in a row
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U.S. Open order of play on Tuesday
Highlights of the eighth day at the U.S. Open, the last Grand Slam tournament of the year, at Flushing Meadows on Monday (times in GMT):
0614 SAKKARI DOWNS ANDREESCU
Greece’s Maria Sakkari, the 17th seed, ousted 2019 champion Bianca Andreescu 6-7(2) 7-6(6) 6-3 in a gruelling encounter at Arthur Ashe Stadium lasting almost three-and-a-half hours.
0215 DJOKOVIC BATTLES PAST BROOKSBY
Top seed Novak Djokovic continued his bid for a calendar year Grand Slam and 21st major title by securing a 1-6 6-3 6-2 6-2 win over American Jenson Brooksby.
2355 PLISKOVA OVERCOMES PAVLYUCHENKOVA
Czech fourth seed Karolina Pliskova returned to the U.S. Open quarter-finals for the first time since 2018 with a 7-5 6-4 victory over Russian 14th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
2255 BERRETTINI BATTLES PAST OTTE
Italian sixth seed Matteo Berrettini overcame a second-set wobble to beat German qualifier Oscar Otte 6-4 3-6 6-3 6-2 and return to the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the second time in three years.
2015 HARRIS SERVES UP OPELKA VICTORY
South African Lloyd Harris caused a minor upset with a 6-7(6) 6-4 6-1 6-3 win over 22nd-seeded local hope Reilly Opelka.
Harris fired 36 aces compared to Opelka’s 24, while winning 92% of his first-serve points, as he reached the quarter-finals where he faces fourth-seeded German Alexander Zverev.
2010 RADUCANU THROUGH TO FIRST MAJOR QUARTER-FINAL
British teenager Emma Raducanu extended her fairytale run at the U.S. Open with a 6-2 6-1 victory over American Shelby Rogers to reach the last eight of a Grand Slam for the first time, where she will meet Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic.
1840 ZVEREV ZIPS PAST SINNER
Olympic gold medallist Alexander Zverev, seeded fourth, extended his winning streak to 15 matches with a 6-4 6-4 7-6(7) victory over Italian 13th seed Jannik Sinner.
1720 BENCIC SURVIVES SWIATEK TEST
Swiss 11th seed Belinda Bencic overcame a tough first-set tiebreak to beat seventh seed Iga Swiatek 7-6(12) 6-3 to progress to the quarter-finals.
(Compiled by Dhruv Munjal, Anuron Kumar Mitra and Hritika Sharma in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond and Himani Sarkar and Christian Radnedge)
Source Link Tennis-U.S. Open day eight
