Swiatek reaches US Open quarters ahead of Gauff-Osaka blockbuster / Photo: ANGELA WEISS - AFP
Swiatek reaches US Open quarters ahead of Gauff-Osaka blockbuster
Iga Swiatek booked her place in the US Open quarter-finals on Monday as Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka prepared to face off in a blockbuster clash of former champions.
Swiatek brushed off Russian 13th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3, 6-1 in barely an hour to extend her Grand Slam winning streak to 11 matches as she targets a second US Open crown.
"I felt like in the beginning she played fast but later on I felt in my bubble, in the zone," said Swiatek. "I'm happy with the quality and my serve."
The Polish second seed could face Amanda Anisimova next in a repeat of the Wimbledon final, which Swiatek won 6-0, 6-0. The American plays Brazilian 18th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia later on Monday.
Swiatek has reached the last eight or better at all four majors in a season for the first time and is chasing her seventh Grand Slam.
Men's eighth seed Alex de Minaur sealed a quick passage to the quarter-finals with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 win over Swiss qualifier Leandro Riedi.
De Minaur put the world number 435 to the sword with eight breaks as he swept into a sixth Grand Slam quarter-final. He has never made it past the last eight though.
"Ultimately this is where I want to be -- I want to be playing for big titles, I want to be in contention," said De Minaur, into his third US Open quarter-final.
He advances to play Felix Auger-Aliassime, who defeated Andrey Rublev in straight sets as the Canadian 25th seed reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final in three years.
Auger-Aliassime won 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 for just his second victory over the Russian in nine attempts.
The 25-year-old Auger-Aliassime's deepest run at a Grand Slam came when he advanced to the semi-finals of the US Open in 2021.
"It feels even better than the first time," Auger-Aliassime said of returning to the last eight in New York.
"I think the first time at 21 I was kind of on my way up. To have a few setbacks, injuries, struggles with confidence... to come back for a second time to the quarter-finals here, it feels much better."
- Blockbuster on Ashe -
Gauff and Osaka were due to square off in a highly-anticipated fourth-round showdown that took top billing on the Labor Day holiday in New York.
The match is a repeat of the duo's first meeting at the US Open in 2019, when Osaka overpowered the then 15-year-old Gauff in straight sets.
Gauff called it "a cool kind of deja vu type of situation, but hopefully it will be a different result."
Four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka is enjoying her best US Open showing since winning the tournament for the second time in 2020.
"It's been a really long journey, but I'm glad to be here now," said Osaka, who returned to tennis last year following the birth of her daughter in 2023.
"I kind of see her (Gauff) as a little sister, so it's kind of cool to be playing her here again," added Osaka.
World number one and reigning men's champion Jannik Sinner takes on Alexander Bublik in the night session.
Sinner is trying to become the first man to defend the US Open since Roger Federer won the last of his five successive titles in 2008.
However, the mercurial Bublik is one of only two players to beat Sinner this year. Carlos Alcaraz is the other.
Italian 10th seed Lorenzo Musetti plays unseeded Spaniard Jaume Munar with both seeking to reach a first US Open quarter-final.
St.Reid--EWJ
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