Sinner, Medvedev Target US Open Quarterfinals in Djokovic and Alcaraz's Absence

Posted : 02 September 2024

World number one Jannik Sinner and former champion Daniil Medvedev are eyeing spots in the US Open quarterfinals on Monday, in a tournament missing top stars Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz. Sinner, who won his first Grand Slam at the Australian Open this year, is set to face Tommy Paul, while Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion, will compete against Portugal's Nuno Borges. Meanwhile, women's world number one Iga Swiatek, the 2022 US Open champion, aims to advance further by defeating Russia's Liudmila Samsonova.

Sinner, now 23, is determined to become the only man this year to reach the quarterfinals at all four Grand Slam events. Last year, he made it to the last eight in New York, narrowly losing to Alcaraz after holding a match point. With Alcaraz and Djokovic both out, Medvedev stands as the only former champion left in the draw, aiming for his fifth quarterfinal appearance in New York over the past six years. Medvedev will be up against Borges, who is seeking his first victory over a top 10 player and to make history as the first Portuguese man to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal in the Open era.

If both Sinner and Medvedev succeed in their matches, they are set to clash in the quarterfinals for their fourth encounter of 2024. The Italian and Russian have had a competitive year, with Sinner defeating Medvedev in the Australian Open final and the Miami semifinals, while Medvedev avenged those losses at Wimbledon in a five-set thriller. On the women's side, Swiatek, playing her 100th Grand Slam match, is up against Samsonova, whom she has defeated in all three of their previous meetings. However, Samsonova enters the match with confidence, having reached the quarterfinals of two WTA 1000 events just before the US Open.

In other matchups, Russia's Diana Shnaider will seek her first Grand Slam semifinal appearance when she faces US sixth seed Jessica Pegula. Caroline Wozniacki, the 2014 runner-up, takes on Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia, with the winner advancing to play Karolina Muchova, who eliminated fifth seed Jasmine Paolini. The men's last-16 round also features Britain's Jack Draper against unseeded Tomas Machac, and an all-Australian duel between Alex de Minaur and Jordan Thompson.

Sinner, Medvedev Target US Open Quarterfinals in Djokovic and Alcaraz's Absence

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