Week one of the 2021 US Open concludes today, as a stellar lineup of tennis’ best compete in fourth-round play. Familiar faces and others less-so are featured in the spectacular Day Seven lineup, as 2019 Flushing finalist Daniil Medvedev shares the top of today’s bill with four women familiar with Grand Slam glory, including Simona Halep, Angelique Kerber, Barbora Krejcikova and Garbine Muguruza. Add in resurgent American Frances Tiafoe, the ubiquitous Argentine Diego Schwartzman, women’s second seed Aryna Sabalenka and rising North Stars Felix Auger-Aliassime and Leylah Fernandez, and you’ve got a day that promises many years’ worth of memories. Halfway home, each of these players will now need to redouble their efforts if they are to continue in their quest for a US Open crown. On this seventh day, nobody rests.
Men’s second seed Medvedev has played from the start like a man very much focused on a return to this tournament’s second Sunday. The 25-year-old Russian was, of course, one-half of one of the most memorable US Open finals in recent history, rallying from two sets down before losing in five to Rafael Nadal in 2019. Medvedev is into the fourth round of the US Open for the third consecutive year. Last year, he reached the semis before losing to eventual champion Dominic Thiem. Through three rounds this year, Medvedev has yet to drop a set, and has improved his career mark on the hard floors of Flushing to 16-4—his best record at any of the four Slams.
The Russian, whose first-round win over Richard Gasquet was the 200th of his career, has put together a stellar season, reaching his second career major final at the Aussie Open in January, and capturing three singles titles. The most recent of those was at the US Open Series stop in Toronto last month—the 12th singles crown of his career.
Today, he takes on the 24th seed, Daniel Evans of Great Britain. The 31-year-old is into the fourth round of the US Open for the first time in his career. In fact, only once before—at the 2017 Australian Open—has Evans advanced this far at a Slam. He’s not had an easy advance to this point, winning two four-setters and rallying from two sets down to win his third-round match in five. But only tough players win tough matches, and the Brit is one of the grittiest players on the men’s tour. He’s also one of the very few men on tour to post a victory of Novak Djokovic this season, taking out the men’s No. 1 in the third round of the Monte Carlo event this spring.
Medvedev and Evans have never met, and this first encounter figures to be a good one. Evans will battle, but the Medvedev onslaught figures to be much more than he can overcome. Give Evans a set; give Medvedev the win.
Kerber, champion here in 2016, owns two other major crowns, winning the Australian Open in 2016 and Wimbledon in 2018. The 33-year-old German, a former No. 1, is into the fourth round here for the sixth time in her career. After a so-so start to her season, Kerber found her feet during the grass-court stretch, winning a Wimbledon warm-up event and playing her way into the semis at the All-England Club. Last month, she warmed up her hard-court chops with a run to the semifinals of Cincinnati. She’s now won 16 of her last 19 matches. In her third-round win over another former US Open champion, Sloane Stephens, Kerber dropped the first set, but then ran away with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 win. If she can maintain that level of fire, focus, and footwork for another week, there’s little reason to think that the veteran talent won’t be a present contender.
To keep moving ahead, she’s going to have to get around Fernandez, who turned the US Open’s third round into her own personal coming-out party, shocking the tennis world with an impressive 5-7, 7-6, 6-2 win over defending champion and four-time major titlist Naomi Osaka. The 18-year-old Canadian, ranked No. 73, displayed veteran poise on tennis’ biggest stage. In the deciding set, Fernandez won 18 of 19 first serve points, and never faced a break point. She was the definition of dominant.
Fernandez, who captured her first career singles title in March at a hard-court event in Monterrey, has never been this deep at a Slam before in her young career. But given the events of Friday night, it’s more than likely she’ll be a factor on the game’s greatest stages for years to come. But today, against a former champion who’s enjoying a resurgent summer, it’s hard to imagine the teen can pull off back-to-back shockers. In a tight two, Kerber advances.
