Leander Paes is through to the Semi Finals of men’s doubles. Victoria Azarenka, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are through to the quarterfinals while Na Li and Serena Williams are through to the Semi Finals.
Quick Recap of Day 9
Tomas Berdych was the big casualty on Day 9. The 5th seed Czech lost to Stanislas Wawrinka in a four set encounter. Lleyton Hewitt’s dream run at the US Open also came to an end. The Australian lost to 21st seed Mikhail Youzhny in a five set marathon. But there was some good news for the Indian fans as Leander Paes is through to the Semi Finals of men’s doubles at Flushing Meadows. Victoria Azarenka, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are through to the quarterfinals while Na Li and Serena Williams are through to the Semi Finals.
Indian Presence on Day 10
10th seeds Sania Mirza and Jie Zheng will take to court today to play their quarter final match in the women’s doubles against 4th seeds Su-Wei Hsieh and Shuai Peng. Facing a higher ranked team is always a difficult task. The Indo-Chinese pair may find it tough to advance to the semi finals.
Men’s Singles
Two Men’s Singles Quarterfinals are scheduled today. In the morning session, 8th seed Richard Gasquet of France takes on the 4th seed David Ferrer of Spain. They both have faced each other nine times; David Ferrer has won 8 of them. The only time Gasquet beat the Spaniard was back in 2008. David Ferrer has been in good form this year and one would expect Ferrer to win this tie and advance to the semi finals.
In the second quarterfinal, which will be played in the evening session, 2nd seed Rafael Nadal faces 19th seed Tommy Robredo. This is the first time that Robredo has reached the last eight at the US Open. This match was billed as a Federer-Nadal clash; however Robredo had other plans as he beat the Swiss Maestro in straight sets in the previous round. Nadal, on the other hand, has reached his sixth US Open quarterfinal. Robredo has never beaten Nadal in any of the previous encounters. Robredo will not be worried about that stat as he had never beaten Federer as well, that is before the fourth round match. This could be an interesting match between the two Spaniards.
Women’s Singles
Two Quarter finals would take place in women’s singles as well. In the first one, 10th seed Roberta Vinci faces Flavia Pennetta in an all Italian clash. In head to head, both have won four matches against each other. Vinci beat Pennetta in their only battle on hard court in Tokyo, Japan in 2009. In an interesting stat, both players have played eight times against each other but have won on an alternate basis. Both players have never been able to beat each other twice in a row. So, if we go by that stat, Vinci is the favorite to win as Pennetta won their last encounter.
In the second quarterfinal, 2nd seed Victoria Azarenka faces Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia. After reaching the final last year, Azarenka is on a mission to win the US Open this year. Azarenka had won the Australian Open earlier in the year. On the other hand, Hantuchova has reached the quarterfinals of the US Open for the first time since 2002. Though the head to head is tied at two a piece, my bet is on Azarenka to win this one. Azarenka beat Hantuchova in both the previous two encounters including a win on a hard court earlier in the year.
We are in the business part of the US Open now. This is where it gets tough to know who the favorite to win is. It’s going to be a fan’s delight!
