US Open 2020 quarter-final: Alex de Minaur v Dominic Thiem – live!

First set: De Minaur 1-3 Thiem* (*denotes next server)

Thiem breaks serve in the fourth game of the set!

The roof is being closed as play continues in this first set. A cracking volley from De Minaur takes him back to 30-30 on serve but Thiem bosses the Australian around the court to establish another break point. Danger is averted by virtue of another unforced error from Thiem – his eighth compared to De Minaur’s four – but it’s all Thiem from there for a third successive break of serve.

First set: *De Minaur 1-2 Thiem (*denotes next server)

De Minaur breaks back in the third game of the set!

A failed challenge takes Thiem to 30-15 but De Minauer holds his nerve, fending off a huge forehand, to force an error and take the game to 30-30. Another unforced error hands De Minaur his first break point, but the Australian can’t cope with a good first serve and the game heads to deuce. The Austrian squanders game point at the first time of asking and commits another error to gift De Minaur another break point, which he devours on the back of yet another unforced error from Thiem. A spot of rain here and there on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

First set: De Minaur 0-2 Thiem* (*denotes next server)

Thiem breaks serve in the second game of the set!

The early tone looks set, both men happy to duke it out from the baseline, but on the occasion De Minaur breaks rank and charges the net, Thiem creams a winner down the line. Things look bleak for the Australian at 0-30 but he works Thiem around the court to work back to 30-30. A mishit from De Minaur then hands Thiem break point but this time the Australian prevails in a baseline rally to force the game to deuce. A beautiful backhand winner sets up another break point and De Minaur hits long to make it 2-0 for the Austrian.

First set: *De Minaur 0-1 Thiem (*denotes next server)

Thiem unfurls a ripping cross-court ace to go to 30-15, after which the Austrian gets the better of an an absorbing rally to move to game point. Thiem then challenges a call on his own serve – it was called in before De Minaur struck a winner – and it was indeed long, paving the way for the second seed to comfortably hold serve.

Asked in a post-match interview what the balls looked like during her quarter-final romp against Elise Mertens, considering it seemed she was seeing them so large, Victoria Azarenka’s response was: “Yellow.”

Ask a sill question, get a silly answer.

Back to the matter at hand, besides the obvious distraction of that curious soup strainer on his upper lip, how will Alex de Minaur go about turning the tables on Dominic Thiem and win a major quarter at the first time of asking?

It’s a question Linda Pearce is asking in this excellent piece on the emerging Australian.

Over on the men’s draw, Daniil Medvedev overcame shoulder issues and, ahem, the mother of all tennis ailments – cramp – to beat Andrey Rublev in straight sets and book a place in the semis.

Quite a bit to catch up on today. Speaking of Azarenka, she is one of nine mothers to have competed at this year’s tournament. I’m not overly literate on such statistics, but surely this is some sort of record.

Earlier on, two mums – moms? – faced each other in another quarter-final, with six-time winner Serena Williams coming from a set down to beat Tsvetana Pironkova. Here is Kevin Mitchell’s mother of a match report.