At the conclusion of Day 8, only eight contenders remain in both the men's and women's singles draws, with the quarterfinal stage now set. Monday's winners included the Grand Slam-chasing Novak Djokovic, former US Open finalists Karolina Pliskova and Alexander Zverev, and a pair of 2019 semifinalists in Matteo Berrettini and Belinda Bencic. But the most convincing win belonged to 18-year-old Emma Raducanu, who's through to her first career Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Closing the evening's action after 2 a.m. was Maria Sakkari, who battled for three-and-a-half hours to hand Bianca Andreescu her first US Open loss.
Here's our look at all their hard work on Labor Day.
Novak's delayed domination: For the third time in four US Open matches, the world No. 1 dropped a set. With that obligatory news flash out of the way, we can get to the real story—the Serb has never truly been in danger this fortnight. But his biggest scare so far came Monday against Jenson Brooksby, who followed a 6-1 opening set with an incredible fight in a second stanza for the ages.
After Djokovic announced his presence with an early second-set break, Brooksby broke back in a 24-point, 19-minute game. It was the kind of moment that often decides a match—and in this case it did... in Djokovic's favor. After the American broke to get back on serve at 2-3 in the second, the Serb won 15 of the match's last 20 games to run away a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 winner.
Following the match, Djokovic was told about a tweet from Andy Roddick that read: "First he takes your legs, then he takes your soul." In reply, the Serb delivered one final winner in front of the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd.
"Only the first part,” he said, drawing laughs. “The second part, I don't take anybody's soul. Everyone has their soul. We're all beautiful souls, so I appreciate everyone... But I'll take your legs out, that's for sure."
Raducanu blitzes Rogers: Before Djokovic took out the last remaining American man in the singles draw, Raducanu did the same in the women's bracket by firing past Shelby Rogers, 6-2, 6-1. After falling behind 2-0 in her Arthur Ashe Stadium debut, the Briton won 11 straight games on her way to a surprisingly straightforward victory. Even the support of the New York crowd could not will Rogers into a second staight US Open quarterfinal.
Riding a clean streak of 14 sets won in New York—stringing back to her perfect progress through qualifying—Raducanu will next face her first seeded opponent in Olympic gold medalist Bencic. The No. 11-seeded Swiss knocked off No. 7 Iga Swiatek, 7-6, 6-3, after more than two hours of play in Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Four score: No. 4 seeds Alexander Zverev and Karolina Pliskova were both straight-sets winners Monday, with Zverev topping No. 13 Jannik Sinner and Pliskova beating No. 14 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. All five sets were decided by one break or less as their Top 15 opponents brought their best. But the favorites avoided the upset bug to progress.
Zverev draws the unseeded Lloyd Harris in the quarterfinals, after the South African took out the No. 22-seeded American Reilly Opelka, 6-7, 6-4, 6-1, 6-3, in Armstrong.
Pliskova will face the No. 17 seed Sakkari, who's still standing after her marathon match against Andreescu.
McCoco thrill the Grandstand: Playing together in New York for the third staight year, Coco Gauff and Caty McNally equalled their career-best Slam showing by reaching the women's doubles quarterfinals. The two-time Australian Open quarterfinalists, seeded 11th here, took a 6-4, 6-4 decision against the No. 8-seeded duo of Andreja Klepac and Darija Jurak in front of a packed Grandstand. Next up: top seeds Hsieh Su-Wei and Elise Mertens.
In men's doubles, the match of the day saw No. 4 seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury edge No. 13 seeds Ivan Dodig and Rohan Bopanna, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6. Semifinalists here one year ago, the American-British duo are seeking a second Grand Slam title together, following their 2020 Aussie Open triumph.
Watch: The Top Plays of Day 8
Tweet of the Day: Women's singles quarterfinalist Leylah Fernandez celebrated her 19th birthday with a little help from Billie Jean King.
Quote of the Day: “It definitely plays a part in motivation. Like, I wanted to join them as well… But everyone’s on their own trajectory, and I’m just so happy to have been able to focus on my game and into the quarterfinals.” — Emma Raducanu on being the third teen to advance to the quarterfinals on at the 2021 US Open, joining Fernandez and Carlos Alcaraz.
Photo of the Day: On Lt. Joe Hunt Military Appreciation Day at the 2021 US Open, a special on-court ceremony featured a presentation of flags flown at the USTA Bille Jean King National Tennis Center to three families who lost loved ones on 9/11.
