On this Labor Day Monday, tennis’ best report to work here at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, each looking to complete a job begun one week ago today. Some of those who’ll be punching in on Day 8 have a wealth of experience in the fine art of stringing together seven matches over a two-week span; others are experiencing long-term Grand Slam employment for the first time. Top seeds Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek headline this Labor Day workforce, which also includes women’s No. 5 seed Jasmine Paolini sixth-seeded Jessica Pegula, two-time Flushing finalist Caroline Wozniacki, 2021 US Open men’s champ Daniil Medvedev, No. 10 seed Alex de Minaur and No. 14 Tommy Paul. All have excellent resumes, but each one now needs to be willing to log some serious overtime. The job only gets tougher from here.
No. 6 seed Pegula is into the US Open’s fourth round for the third consecutive year, reaching the quarters here in 2022, her best-ever finish in Flushing. The 30-year-old American has played her way into the quarters of all four majors, but has never been able to break through beyond that point. She hasn’t had a great year at the Slams in 2024, losing in the second round of both the Aussie Open and Wimbledon and missing the French with a rib injury. But she’s turned up the heat this summer leading in to the Open, taking the title at the hard-court Toronto event and then reaching the final of Cincinnati, riding a pretty large wave of momentum onto the shores of Flushing. Pegula has played her way into the fourth round here without dropping a set, showcasing a splendid mix of poise, power, and purpose that suggests a second-Saturday showing is very much within her reach.
Today, she squares off with No. 18 seed Diana Shnaider, a slugging southpaw who’s so far making her first-ever US Open main-draw appearance a memorable one, bettering her recent run to the third round of Wimbledon, where she dismissed Karolina Pliskova and Sloane Stephens back-to-back. The 20-year-old has breezed her way to this point without losing a set, dropping a mere 13 games in three matches. She’s this year won three singles titles—on clay, grass and hard—and reached the semis at last month’s Toronto tournament, upsetting Coco Gauff along the way.
The two have met just once, at the aforementioned Toronto event, with Pegula winning their semifinal encounter in straight sets. Changes in latitude aren’t likely to change that result. In a tight two, Pegula is on to the quarters.
Paul, the No. 14 seed, has had a terrific season in 2024, winning titles at the hard-court Dallas event in February and the grass-court Wimbledon warm-up at Queen’s Club in June. The American also reached a third final at the hard-court Delray Beach event in February, taking out compatriot Frances Tiafoe en route, and copped a bronze medal in doubles at the Paris Olympics with partner Taylor Fritz. Paul, 27, has now reached the fourth round here in consecutive years and is just two wins away from matching his best-career Slam showing, which was a run to the 2022 Aussie Open semis. But just getting to this point of the tournament, along with compatriots Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and Brandon Nakashima, gave the U.S. four men in the US Open's fourth round for the second consecutive year.
Of course, progressing durther is going to be easier said than done as he squares off with top-seeded Sinner, whose five singles titles in 2024 include his first career Slam crown at the Australian Open. The 23-year-old Italian is into Flushing’s fourth round for the fourth year in a row; a quarterfinal finish here in 2022 his best US Open showing to date. Sinner’s 31-2 mark on hard courts this year is best among the men, and his career 166-48 record on cement through three rounds here proves he can handle the hard stuff with the best of them. If he can finish first in Flushing, he will be just the fourth man to claim both the Aussie Open and US Open titles in the same year since both events converted to pavement.
The Italian owns a slim 2-1 edge over the American in their career head-to-heads, going one up in their most recent meeting in the semis of last month’s Montreal hard-court event. This has the potential to be a good one, and Paul is more than capable of pulling off the upset if he can dictate play. Of course, Sinner seldom takes dictation. Give the American a set, but give Sinner the win. In four, the top seed advances.
