Good morning, Court Theorists! ☕️☀️🗽
Today’s tennis mood: Shaking my head at Ostapenko and gearing up for an amazing line-up.
Let’s tennis!
-Allen
🎾 On tap: It’s (the first) quarterfinals day at the U.S. Open, and there isn’t a bad match on the schedule. It’s a tough day at the office for Americans at their home slam. If you’re Ben Shelton, you’re going up against Carlos Alcaraz. And then there are two matches of Americans facing each other. More on all that below.
Note: Check out our U.S. Open giveaway with Babolat in the Social Tennis section below!
🎾 ICYMI: If you checked out for the holiday weekend, here’s what you missed yesterday…
Botic van de Zandschulp fought back from two sets down to defeat lucky loser Arthur Gea to reach the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open.
Karen Khachanov took down Learner Tien in a five-set battle 7-5, 4-6, 6-7, 6-1, 6-4.
U.S. Open first-timer Alexander Blockx defeated Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5.
Coco Gauff had a definitive win over fellow American Iva Jovic 6-1, 6-4.
Elena Rybakina regained form just in time to defeat Naomi Osaka 6-1, 6-4.
For the second match in a row, Qinwen Zheng came back from a 0-5 deficit and won the match, defeating Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-3.
Mirra Andreeva showed sportsmanship in her win over Anastasia Potapova with a score of 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.
🎾 One to watch: Ben Shelton vs. Carlos Alcaraz (Quarterfinals - U.S. Open): Watch this one for Shelton’s shot against the top and to see if Alcaraz’s wrist holds up against one of the game’s biggest hitters.
The record: Carlos Alcaraz leads the head-to-head record over Ben Shelton 3-0.
On the line: Alcaraz has 2000 points to defend as last year’s U.S. Open winner, but that’s probably the last thing on his mind. He wants to get back to his winning ways and (fingers crossed) without pain or re-injuring himself. For Shelton, he wants to prove that he belongs at the top of the game by showing up for the big moments — something that’s been elusive in his career thus far.
🎾 🏆 🎤 YOUR CALL
And that’s game.
