In this unique 2020 US Open, full of pandemic-induced changes on and off the courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, four familiar faces cherished the unfamiliar feeling of victory inside a near-empty Arthur Ashe Stadium. Six-time US Open champion Serena Williams, former New York finalists Daniil Medvedev and Victoria Azarenka, and three-time major finalist Dominic Thiem all notched quarterfinal wins on Day 10.
Here's our look at the Wednesday's action, which also featured a dramatic women's doubles semifinal match in Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Serena the closer: On the baseball diamond at nearby Citi Field, ball clubs bring in their closer when it’s winning time. In getting the first of the last three outs that she needs to win Grand Slam singles title No. 24, Serena Williams was once again untouchable down the stretch in Ashe.
It got late early in the day’s opening match, as the 38-year-old trailed fellow super-mom Tsvetana Pironkova by a set and a break. But from 3-all, 15-30 on serve in the second, Williams found her fastball to win nine of the match’s final 11 games and book a spot in the US Open semis for the 14th time.
It was a similar story in Williams’ previous two matches, when she won six of the last seven games to defeat Maria Sakkari in the Round of 16, and 10 of the last 12 to beat Sloane Stephens in Round 3, coming back from behind in both matches.
“It's not how you start; it's how you finish, right?” Serena said in her post-match press interview. “I'm OK. I'm ready to play three sets every match if I have to. It doesn't matter. A win is a win.”
Williams hit 21 aces in the match, the most she’s hit in over eight years, according to the WTA.
Medvedev wins all-Moscow matchup: Daniil Medvedev is back in the US Open semifinals after surviving two tiebreaks—each decided by razor-thin margins—and some late cramps in a three-set victory over childhood friend Andrey Rublev. The match flipped on the first-set breaker, where the No. 3 seed came back from 5-1 down and played one of the shots of the tournament at 6-all to break the spirit of his countryman.
Medvedev’s 51 winners (including 16 aces) accounted for 48 percent of his 107 points won in the match, as both men finished with more winners than unforced errors in a high-quality contest. Channeling the Pete Sampras-Andre Agassi 2001 quarterfinal epic (which featured four tiebreaks and no breaks of serve), there was just one break chance on offer in this contest, with Medvedev taking it in the second set.
The 2019 finalist is now a perfect 15-0 in sets played at the 2020 US Open, with Rublev the first man to take more than four games off him in a single stanza. (Women's singles semifinalist Jennifer Brady is also perfect at 10-0 in sets played.)
Azarenka sets Serena rematch: We'll see a rematch of the 2012 and 2013 US Open finals when Victoria Azarenka takes on Williams on Thursday. The unseeded Belarusian put an abrupt end to Elise Mertens' perfect run to the quarterfinals with a stunning 6-1, 6-0 victory. The No. 16-seeded Belgian had not previously dropped a set during the fortnight, but that ended after a 35-minute opening set in Ashe.
Azarenka broke in each of her six return games and produced 21 winners to just 11 unforced errors in a vintage performance that runs her NYC winning streak up to 10, after her Western & Southern Open title run.
Thiem slows speed demon: Dominic Thiem picked up where Azarenka left off in Ashe, taking command with a pair of one-sided sets before Alex de Minaur found his footing late in the third. The 21-year-old Aussie made the No. 2 seed work, and perhaps the scoreline was a harsh reflection of his dogged effort, but there was only ever one winner here.
Thiem made absolutely sure it was him by whipping four straight groundstroke winners in the final game to reach his sixth Grand Slam singles semifinal and become the first Austrian man to reach that stage at the US Open.
Top Plays: Watch some of the top plays on the biggest points from Day 10, featuring Williams, Medvedev, Azarenka and Thiem.
Match point saved as doubles finals set: The lone doubles match of Day 10 was worthy of the spotlight, completing our four finalists across the men's and women's events. No. 3 seeds Nicole Melichar and Xu Yifan will contest their second final in two weeks, after saving a match point and defeating all-American semifinalists Asia Muhammad and Taylor Townsend. (Photos: View the best shots from the semifinal.)
Our first 2020 US Open champions will be crowned on Thursday, with the men's doubles final set for 4 p.m. in Ashe. View the full Order of Play, which also includes the start of the US Open Wheelchair Competition presented by Deloitte.
