On a particularly busy Sunday night at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center this Labor Day weekend, fans packed Arthur Ashe Stadium to watch No. 1 seed Daniil Medvedev and No. 23 seed Nick Kyrgios go to work in a Round of 16 match that easily could have been the men’s singles final.
Take a bow, @NickKyrgios pic.twitter.com/kVqDJ9Xqrs
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 5, 2022
Immediately afterward, Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur—the highest-ranked African and Arab in WTA history, seeded fifth at this tournament—competed against Veronika Kudermetova, who hadn’t dropped a set all tournament ahead of her fourth-round clash.
That first Ashe win feeling.@Ons_Jabeur | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/TsB2C8KrgN
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 5, 2022
But in the city that never sleeps, there were plenty of other highlights throughout the day. Two elite Spaniards fell in epic five-setters: No. 13 seed Matteo Berrettini of Italy took down Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and Karen Khachanov, the No.27 seed, upset No. 12 seed Pablo Carreno Busta.
That said, it was hard to steal the spotlight from 18-year-old, No. 12 seed Coco Gauff, who advanced in two tough sets against China’s Zhang Shuai.
Doubles action also dotted the grounds, along with the first matches of the US Open Junior Championships.
Kyrgios, Gauff raise the volume in Arthur Ashe Stadium:
In one of the biggest matches of the 2022 US Open thus far, Australia’s Kyrgios showed he was still in top form after reaching the men’s singles final at Wimbledon. He defeated current world No. 1 Medvedev, this tournament’s defending singles champion, in under three hours: 7-6(11), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
It was an especially fast-paced and hard-hitting Round of 16 match, with both players soaked in sweat by the end of the opening set. The stats were nearly identical, as Kyrgios and Medvedev claimed a similar number of first-serve points won: 64/85 (75%) for the No. 23 seed, and 56/75 (also 75%) for the top seed.
"I'm just finally glad I'm able to show New York my talent."
💙 @NickKyrgios pic.twitter.com/wyQ1JENrfw
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 5, 2022
“I was, overall, pretty happy with that performance,” Kyrgios said. “I just tried to stay with the process, I just tried to block out the finish line… It’s an amazing feeling, taking down the No. 1 player on Arthur Ashe Stadium. I just stay in the moment, and that’s it.”
After losing his Round 4 match, Medvedev will soon be stripped of his world No. 1 status.
Earlier in Ashe: France’s lucky loser Corentin Moutet finally met an end at the 2022 US Open, falling in four to No. 5 seed Casper Ruud of Norway: 6-1, 6-2, 6(4)-7, 6-2.
Casper Ruud meets the quarterfinals! pic.twitter.com/TcxcymdNmB
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 4, 2022
Ruud successfully fended off his eager opponent in the first two sets, but couldn’t manage Moutet’s risky, speedy shotmaking in the third set. A third-set tiebreak just barely went Moutet’s way, costing the world No. 7 an extra 48 minutes on court.
The court’s first and last women’s matches of the day also showcased incredible talent. No. 12 seed Gauff of the United States took two hours to contain and eliminate China’s Zhang, 7-5, 7-5.
The Roland Garros singles and doubles runner-up now reaches the US Open quarterfinals for the very first time.
“I think I’m feeding off the momentum a lot,” Gauff said post-match. “New York is bringing out a side of me that I haven’t had since I was 15, so it’s nice.”
No. 5 seed Ons Jabeur closed out the night by defeating No. 18 seed Veronika Kudermetova, 7-6(1), 6-4, ending the latter’s six-set win streak at the 2022 US Open.
Jabeur dedicated the third-round victory to her grandmother, who passed a few years ago: “For some reason, this week, I’m thinking about her a lot,” she said. “So today, I was asking for her help and support. She always supported me and was there, so I’m very sad that she’s missing this and I just want to, I don’t know, say hello or something.”
Meanwhile, in Louis Armstrong Stadium:
Matteo Berrettini, the No.13 seed from Italy, took five sets to defeat unseeded Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Though the Italian’s powerful forehand and big serve (which maxed out at 138 mph on Sunday) continue to propel him. Berrettini started slow against an extremely determined opponent who enjoyed a strong serving day: Berrettini won 61 of 73 first-serve points (84%), while Davidovich Fokina won 67 of 97 (69%). Following this three-hour, 45-minute epic, the Italian will now face Ruud in the quarterfinals.
No. 27 seed Karen Khachanov flipped the script on No. 12 seed Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain, squeaking out a win over five sets and three hours, 21 minutes. The victory bumps Khachanov to his first US Open quarterfinal, and the second Grand Slam quarterfinal of his career.
In women’s singles, Aussie Ajla Tomljanovic—who famously defeated Serena Williams in over three hours on Friday—kept her magical run alive by downing Liudmila Samsonova in straight sets, 7-(8), 6-1. The opening set took 81 minutes, longer than some best-of-three matches.
“I think my will to go further in this tournament was really strong, and I didn’t want to stop Friday night,” Tomljanovic said in a post-match press conference. “I dug deep, because I felt I had more left in me.”
Caroline Garcia, who has been on fire this tournament, blazed past the No. 29 seed Alison Riske-Amritraj of the United States in an hour and 22 minutes, 6-4, 6-1.
“The first set was really tight,” Garcia told the crowd after the triumph. “It was not always great tennis, but I managed my emotions a little bit better through the match, and the second set was really good.”
Garcia will face Gauff in a blockbuster match on Tuesday.
Doubles action heats up:
The 2022 US Open doubles draws have advanced to the quarterfinals.
In the Grandstand, No. 1 seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury—the defending men’s doubles champions from the United States and Great Britain, respectively—defeated Italian No. 15 seeds Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini, 6-1, 7-5, in one hour, 15 minutes.
No. 3 seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer also won in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6(9). Both teams head to the quarterfinals.
Women’s doubles saw No. 2 seeds Zhang Shuai and Mate Pavic, from China and Croatia, defeat Americans Madison Keys and Bjorn Fratangelo 6-4, 6-2.
In the second round of mixed, wild cards Caty McNally and William Blumberg of the United States defeated No. 1 seeds (and defending champions) Desirae Krawczyk and partner Neal Skupski.
Jack Sock and Leylah Fernandez—the U.S. Olympic gold medalist and the 2021 US Open women’s singles runner-up, respectively—bested Gabriela Dabrowski and Max Purcell, 6-4, 7-6(4), on Court 17.
Juniors underway:
The boy’s and girls’ singles competitions kicked off Sunday with No. 1 seed Sofia Costoulas of Belgium winning her girls’ singles Round 1 match, and No. 2 seed Gilles Arnaud Bailly winning his boys’ singles match. Each took an hour to claim victory in straight sets.
Bengali