Be honest: Which of you had this as the quarterfinal lineup when the draw was made? Who had neither Novak Djokovic nor Carlos Alcaraz featured in the final eight on the men’s side? And who had Coco Gauff bowing out before the quarterfinals of the women’s singles, complete with 60 unforced errors against Emma Navarro?
In this most unpredictable of US Opens, we try to break down who the remaining favorites are.
Women’s singles
Sabalenka is in good company. She’s now in her fourth straight US Open quarterfinal — the first woman to achieve that feat since Serena Williams’ run from 2011 to 2016. In the process, she became the sixth women’s player since 2000 to reach eight straight Slam quarterfinals. She’s got the experience and the form to take down the entire tournament.
To date, her best finish in New York was reaching the final last year where she ran into Gauff, but she’s best placed to win the whole thing this time around. She has only dropped one set on her way to the quarters, having seen off Priscilla Hon, Lucia Bronzetti, Ekaterina Alexandrova in three and then Elise Mertens in straight sets in the fourth round.
“I just don’t want to leave early here, you know,” Sabalenka said after defeating Mertens. “I just want to stay as long as I can and enjoy this beautiful court, beautiful atmosphere.”
Swiatek has spent her time in New York trying to stay cool in front of superstars. Before her third-round win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Serena Williams was in the building and bumped into the current world No.1.
“I’m happy that she’s following tennis and my game because she told me that she’s cheering for me,” Swiatek said after dispatching Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-2. “It’s always nice to hear that from somebody like Serena.”
Swiatek is already one of the greats of the game, with five Slams to her name. Four of those have come on Parisian clay, but the other was at Flushing Meadows in 2022. Swiatek is playing well in New York. After her turbulent Olympics — where she went in as favorite and ended up with bronze — she’s building nicely in New York. So far she’s seen off Kamilla Rakhimova, Ena Shibahara, Pavlyuchenkova and…
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