The quarter finals of the US Open begin in New York on Tuesday when the big names come out to play once again at Flushing Meadows. The remainder of the singles events will take place on Arthur Ashe Stadium now so things are set to go up a notch from here on in.
We may only have four singles matches on show but we still have the men’s number one, the greatest women’s player of all time and the defending ladies champion on a high quality looking day of action.
Day 8 Recap
A day that promised much failed to really live up to the heights with a number of one-sided matches. Indeed the only men’s match which went more than three sets was the one involving John Millman and Roger Federer which is one set apiece at the time of writing this preview. Novak Djokovic, Marin Cilic and Kei Nishikori all came through in straight sets. There was a big surprise in the night session where Maria Sharapova was fired out in straight sets by Carla Suarez Navarro. Madison Keys powered through while Naomi Osaka and Lesia Tsurenko came through in a deciding set.
It was a decent enough day for us betting wise on Monday when Nishikori comfortably came through against Philipp Kohlschreiber to cover the handicap while Osaka saw off Aryna Sabalenka. The daily accumulator was denied in the last leg though.
Day Session
Sloane Stephens vs Anastasija Sevastova
The action begins on Tuesday with Sloane Stephens continuing her title defence with a meeting with a woman who she beat on the way to winning the title last year in the form of Latvian player Anastasija Sevastova.
Both these women were impressive in coming through the recent rounds. Stephens powered past Victoria Azarenka and Elise Mertens in the last two rounds while Sevastova has already taken care of big hitting Ekaterina Makarova and the classy Elina Svitolina in the last two rounds.
These two needed a final set tiebreak to separate them 12 months ago and they have a straight sets win apiece against each other since then. My gut feeling is that Sevastova could keep this close but there is the chance of Stephens running away with this with the way she is hitting the ball so I’ll sit this one out.
Juan Martin del Potro vs John Isner
The men’s quarter final in the day session is the juicy looking affair between Juan Martin del Potro and John Isner who meet for the 12th time with the Argentine former champion here currently 7-4 up in their personal battle.
Del Potro is yet to drop a set in this tournament and is playing some great tennis but I think this is pretty clearly his toughest test. Isner has come through a couple of five setters so far and I’m sure he will be delighted to get away from the outside courts and onto Ashe where the speeds appear to be a little quicker, certainly than on Armstrong at least. The American won’t be too disappointed that this match is in the day session where the high humidity should assist his serve too.
Isner has won four of the last seven meetings between these two and their last two on hard courts. He is the first person del Potro will face in this tournament who can take the racquet out of his hands so Isner is not without a chance. I don’t see this being a straight sets encounter and unlike when Isner beat Raonic I don’t think there will be many service breaks in the quicker conditions. Over 42.5 games looks eminently achievable to me.
Night Session
Serena Williams vs Karolina Pliskova
It is a mouth-watering evening session on Tuesday night and it gets underway with Serena Williams taking on Karolina Pliskova for a place in the semi-finals. Pliskova was the last person to beat Williams here and she’ll be looking to repeat that feat.
You have to say Pliskova is not without a chance either. She has already faced a couple of tests in this tournament and come through them nicely and while nothing has been what she will face here the knowledge that she can beat Serena is key. Serena showed some slight vulnerability in the second and third sets of her win over Kaia Kanepi so it will be interesting to see what she has left as it is still pretty early in her comeback.
I’m expecting serve to dominate here so the game lines look attractive once again. The line is at 20.5 and really with the power in the two serves here we only need one tight set to see that covered. I think we’ll get that so the over is the way to go.
Rafael Nadal vs Dominic Thiem
The last match of what looks like a great day of tennis on Tuesday sees the defending men’s champion Rafael Nadal looking to make it into another US Open semi-final when he takes on the man he beat in the French Open final earlier in the year in Dominic Thiem.
This is the first time these two will have met on any surface other than clay but Thiem has three wins in 10 meetings against Nadal and there are not many who can say that on the red dirt. Nadal has been taken to extremes in his last two matches and it will be interesting to see how much that has taken out of him.
Thiem went into this tournament under the radar but a straight sets win over Kevin Anderson last time out has certainly made him prominent and I expect him to be competitive here. He has serious firepower from the back of the court and while Nadal has come through against two similar opponents in the last two rounds he has been troubled on both occasions. Thiem is much better than Khachanov and Basilashvili and can stay within 5.5 games here at the very least.
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Daily Accumulator
It looked as though we were going to get another accumulator up on Monday but Maria Sharapova lost her first night session match in 24 attempts to deny us which wasn’t particularly helpful so we are now 2-6 and down to £41.59 profit for them. With only four singles matches on show on Tuesday we’ve had to include the doubles to form an accumulator.
Stephens win
Del Potro/Isner over 3.5 sets
Nadal/Thiem over 3.5 sets
Kubot/Melo win
£10 pays 53.10
Tips
WON – Back J-M.Del Potro vs J.Isner – Over 42.5 games for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Boylesports
WON – Back D.Thiem (+5.5 games) to beat R.Nadal at 1.83 with Boylesports
Back them here:
Back S.Williams vs K.Pliskova – Over 20.5 games for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Betfair
Back Daily Accumulator at Betfair
Back them here:
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