After three rounds, Novak Djokovic remains a heavy favorite to win his 18th Major. On the women’s side, a clear favorite is yet to emerge. Six Major champions are through to the fourth round: Serena Williams, Angelique Kerber, Naomi Osaka, Petra Kvitova, Victoria Azarenka, and Sofia Kenin. But it still feels like anything can happen, especially with the last 13 Slams claimed by 11 different women.
Angelique Kerber (17) vs. Jennifer Brady (28)
This will be the first match of the day on Louis Armstrong Stadium. Brady is into the fourth round at a Major for the third time, but faces a stiff test in her first career meeting with the three-time Major champion. The 25-year-old American’s serve and forehand have been clicking since the WTA restart. Brady breezed to the title in Lexington last month without dropping a set. She’s also reached this stage with three straight-set victories, as none of her opposition have claimed more than three games in a set. But Kerber has advanced comfortably as well, and has looked confident despite this being her first event since January’s Australian Open. Her reunification with coach Torben Beltz may have a lot to do with that. It will be fascinating to see if Kerber’s excellent defensive skills can deter Brady’s offensive weapons. The difference here may be experience, and that’s a definitive advantage for the 2016 champion.
Petra Martic (8) vs. Yulia Putintseva (23)
Arthur Ashe Stadium action will commence at noon local time with this WTA meeting of seeded players. It will be the guile and variety of Martic against the power and attitude of Putintseva. Surprisingly, these two WTA veterans have never played before. Martic had the best season of her career a year ago, reaching her first Major quarterfinal at Roland Garros, and the third round or better at the other three Slams. Putintseva herself is a two-time French Open quarterfinalist, but this is her best Major result outside of clay. Yulia hits hard off both wings and can control her destiny today if she racks up the winners. But she can become error-prone at times, and that’s when her dramatics often commence. Martic is the steadier and less-negative competitor. The way she employs a wide array of shots could easily exasperate Putintseva, and may spell the end of Yulia’s 2020 US Open.
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Pablo Carreno Busta (20)
Next up on Ashe is the undefeated world No.1, who is 26-0 on the year and has looked more impressive with each passing round. He was surely a bit tired after playing some grueling matches in the Western & Southern Open just a few days before this event, but appears now to be fully fresh. Novak is 3-0 against his opponent today, which includes their only hard court meeting last year in Cincinnati. But Carreno Busta is no pushover. He was a semifinalist here three years ago, and has won three hard court titles in his career. Unfortunately for Pablo, there’s just not much in his game that can threaten the three-time champion. Prior to his loss in the fourth round last year to Stan Wawrinka, Djokovic had won 11 consecutive round of 16 matches in New York. But it’s worth noting Novak was injured here a year ago. I would be shocked if a healthy Djokovic stalls at this stage for the second straight year.
David Goffin (7) vs. Denis Shapovalov (12)
This will kick off the night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium. It’s Shapovalov’s second time into the round of 16 at a Major, with the first occurring three years ago at this same event. But he almost didn’t make it this far, narrowing escaping defeat when Taylor Fritz choked while serving for the match on Friday. Goffin has advanced to the quarterfinals at each of the other three Slams, but never in New York. He’s gone 0-3 in the fourth round here the last three years, though none of those losses were embarrassing (Andrey Rublev, Marin Cilic, and Roger Federer). David prevailed in their only previous meeting, a tight hard court match last year in Tokyo decided by two tiebreak sets. Shapovalov may play freely, feeling as if he’s living a second life in this draw. But Goffin was impressive in taking out a red-hot Filip Krajinovic in straight sets two days ago, and he’s had success playing on fast hard courts. Over the course of three-to-five sets, there’s less that can go wrong in his game. I expect Goffin today will complete the career Slam of quarterfinals.
Naomi Osaka (4) vs. Anett Kontaveit (14)
The last match of the evening features two of the WTA’s best players this summer. These two just played last week here in the Western & Southern Open, and it was an extremely close encounter. Kontaveit was within a few points of upsetting the two-time Major champion, yet Osaka fought her way to victory 7-5 in the third. Overall Naomi is 3-0 against Anett. But today may be the day the 24-year-old Estonian earns her first victory over Osaka. Kontaveit should take a lot of positives away from the lead she built against Osaka last week. It’s been a good season for Anett, reaching her first Major quarterfinal in Australia. Additionally, she already has 10 match wins since the tour restart last month. And Osaka’s leg injury couldn’t have been helped by her two-and-a-half-hour struggle against Marta Kostyuk two days ago. Kontaveit’s aggressive groundstrokes may be too much for a less-than-100% Osaka to overcome.
Other Notable Matches on Day 7:
2018 ATP Finals champion Sascha Zverev (5) vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, the 99th-ranked player in the world who is into the fourth round of a Major for the first time.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova (6) vs. Shelby Rogers. In their only previous meeting, at the 2016 French Open, the 27-year-old American prevailed 6-0, 6-7, 6-0.
Borna Coric (27) vs. Jordan Thompson. Both men are vying for their first Slam quarterfinal. What will Coric have left after his remarkable comeback against Stefanos Tsitsipas two nights ago?
