Four quarters add up to one whole lot of excitement on Day 9 of the 2019 US Open, as eight of the remaining title contenders take to the courts today, each hoping to remain as title contenders tomorrow. Today, Elina Svitlolina battles Johanna Konta, before Stan Wawrinka squares off with Daniil Medvedev. Under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium tonight, Serena Williams faces Wang Qiang, and Roger Federer takes on Grigor Dimitrov. In a tournament that has seen plenty of upsets and surprising twists, today’s lineup features a few surprising participants. But whether the names are familiar or less-so, every one of these players now share a common bond—they’re all just three wins away from a US Open title.
Federer, the all-time men’s leader in major titles with 20, is altogether familiar with standing alone at the end of the Flushing fortnight. For five straight years—from 2004 to 2008—Federer owned this place, rattling off a stellar string of victories that set the mark for most consecutive titles here in the Open era. That said, the 38-year-old Swiss—despite reaching two more finals here in both 2009 and 2015—has yet to again finish first in Flushing. But don’t feel too bad for him; since his last win here in 2008, Federer has captured seven more Grand Slam titles, including three Australian Opens, three Wimbledons, and a French Open. His 20 Slam crowns puts him two ahead of his nearest pursuer, Rafael Nadal, and his 31 major finals and 357 Slam match victories are likewise all-time records.
This year, the Swiss has won three events—two of those on hard courts—increasing his career title total to 102, trailing only Jimmy Connors’ all-time mark of 109. And here, he’s rounded nicely into form through his first four matches; winning the first two in four sets and the subsequent two in straights. In his fourth-round romp over David Goffin, the third seed dropped just four games, blitzing the Belgian 6-2, 6-2, 6-0 to put him into the quarters here for the 13th time, tying Andre Agassi for second-most in the Open era.
His opponent tonight, Dimitrov, is into the US Open quarterfinals for the first time in his career, never before advancing beyond round four here in eight previous tries. The 28-year-old Bulgarian, who finished 2017 ranked No. 3 in the world, has struggled through a tough season, losing in the fourth round at the Australian Open, the third round at Roland Garros, and the first round at Wimbledon. His best 2019 result prior to his arrival here was a quarterfinal finish at January’s Brisbane event.
The two men have met seven times, and seven times Federer has walked away with a win. It’s been a great run for Dimitrov, but that run ends tonight. In three, Federer is on to the semis.
Like Federer, Williams also has spent more than a fair bit of time in tennis’ penthouse. The six-time US Open champ has held the No. 1 ranking for 319 weeks during her career, trailing just Steffi Graf (377) and Martina Navratilova (332) for most weeks at the peak. The owner of 23 career Grand Slam singles titles, Williams is just one major title shy of tying the all-time mark of 24, held by Australia’s Margaret Court. But since winning No. 23 at the Aussie Open in 2017, Williams’ quest for 24 has three times been halted in Grand Slam finals; her loss to Simona Halep in this year’s championship match at Wimbledon the latest detour in her pursuit of history.
Still, as is usually the case when Williams steps onto a tennis court, another page of history is within her reach this evening, as a win tonight would be Williams’ 100th US Open victory, which would put her just a single win behind Chris Evert’s all-time US Open record of 101.
Standing in the way of that milestone is Wang, who’s made some history of her own here, reaching the quarterfinals of a major for the first time in her career. The 27-year-old Chinese star is the first woman from her country to reach the quarters here since countrywoman Peng Shuai was a US Open semifinalist in 2014.
A semifinalist at the Bronx hard-court event two weeks ago, Wang has continued her winning ways here in Queens, advancing to this point without the loss of a set and scoring the biggest win of her career in the fourth round, planting second seed and reigning French Open champ Ashleigh Barty 6-2, 6-4 in a dominating performance that splendidly showcased her relentless ground game and remarkable tactical skills.
Wang will need to up her efforts in both of those categories if she’s to have a chance tonight in the first career meeting between the two women. Playing the six-time champ on the great stage of Ashe at night—where Williams is 41-8 all-time—should be a marvelous learning experience for her, but what she’s most likely to learn is that halting history is hard. In two, Williams hits 100, and moves on to the semis.
Svitolina, the women’s No. 5 seed, also has reached this point of the tournament without dropping a set. This is the third quarterfinal showing of the year for the 24-year-old Ukrainian, who went one better at Wimbledon, reaching her only career Slam semi. Svitolina has been especially impressive to this point, logging a total of just five hours, 15 minutes through four wins—including victories over two-time US Open champ Venus Williams and 2017 finalist Madison Keys.
The fifth seed will look to continue her record roll today against Great Britain’s Johanna Konta, who’s also in the quarters of a Slam for the third consecutive time this year, reaching the semis of Roland Garros. With a win today, Konta—the first British woman to reach the quarters here since Jo Durie in 1983—will have reached the semis of all four Slams.
The 28-year-old’s advance to this point has been an impressive one, but her win over No. 3 seed Karolina Pliskova in round four may just have been her best. Down a set and 3-1, Konta dug deep and simply refused to lose, out-slugging ad out-toughing the third seed for the 6-7, 6-3, 7-5 win.
The two women have met three times, with Svitolina winning all three, most recently at last year’s Montreal event. This one should be close, with Svitolina serving and Konta slugging. In the end, Svitolina should pack the bigger punch. In three, she’s on to the semis.
Wawrinka is something of a surprise quarterfinalist, despite being a three-time Slam champion, including a run to the title here in 2016. Not too many picked him to get past defending US Open champ Novak Djokovic, but the 34-year-old Swiss had the top seed on the ropes, going up two sets before Djokovic was forced to retire with a shoulder injury.
This is the second time this year Wawrinka has reached he quarters of a Slam, losing to Federer at this point at Roland Garros in June. The Swiss has played his way into just one final in 2019, finishing runner-up to Gael Monfils at the hard-court Rotterdam event in February.
No. 5 seed Medvedev, playing in just his third US Open main draw, now finds himself deeper in a Slam than he’s ever before been. Prior to this, his fourth-round finish at January’s Aussie Open was his best career effort at a major. But the presence of the 23-year-old, fast-rising star in this round is hardly surprising, given his stellar performance throughout 2019, a riveting run that has helped the Russian raise his ranking to No. 5. Medvedev reached the final of every event he played post-Wimbledon, finishing second in Washington, D.C., and Montreal, and taking his fifth career title in Cincinnati.
Medvedev took the only career meeting between the two, ousting Wawrinka in the first round of Wimbledon in 2017. Their second major meeting figures to produce a similar result. This one goes four; Medvedev goes on.
