The quarterfinals are set in the men’s and women’s draw for the 2021 United States Open. The biggest question over the last six days of competition is whether or not world number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia will be the first tennis player since Rod Laver in 1969 to win all four majors in a calendar year.
On Monday, Djokovic got off to an awful start as remarkably he lost the first set 6-1 to American Jenson Brooksby, but came back to win the next three sets handily, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. The fact that Brooksby, the world number 99, broke Djokovic three times out of 11 chances, was incredible. Djokovic was not at his best, but found a way, as champions do. He will next play the sixth seed, Matteo Berrettini of Italy, in a rematch of the Wimbledon final this past summer.
The other three men’s quarterfinals will have second seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia against Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands, Felix Auger Aliassime of Canada versus Carlos Alcaraz Garfia of Spain, and Alexander Zverev of Germany versus Lloyd Harris of South Africa. Alacaraz Garfia, van de Zandschulp, and Harris may all be unseeded, but all three have something in common. They have all beaten a top-10 player to reach the quarterfinals. Van de Zandschulp defeated eighth-seed Casper Ruud of Norway 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, Alcaraz Garfia defeated third-seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6, 0-6, 7-6, and Harris defeated the seventh-seed Denis Shapovalov of Canada, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
Meanwhile, in women’s action, Leylah Annie Fernandez of Canada continues to be the big story. After she beat Naomi Osaka in the third round, she upset three-time grand slam champion Angelique Kerber of Germany, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2, in the fourth round. Fernandez will now face Elina Svitoliona of Ukraine. Meanwhile, the other three women’s quarterfinals have Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus versus Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic, Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic versus Maria Sakkari of Greece, and Belinda Bencic of Switzerland versus Emma Raducanu of Great Britain.
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