Key events
Pliskova and Sabalenka should be on court any minute now – we’re just taking a look at Rublev and Tiafoe, who were out practising on Ashe at the same time earlier on. Is that usually how it’s done? Seems unusual to be so close to your opponent.
I stayed up far too late to watch the end of this match last night, as Karen Khachanov booked his first grand slam semi-final. If he can play like this more consistently, there will surely be many more:
Preamble
Hello. It’s been a terrific, wildly unpredictable US Open so far and today’s quarter-final line-up promises more of the same. The late session sees Iga Swiatek take on Jessica Pegula, and Carlos Alcaraz square up to Jannik Sinner – but first, another pair of match-ups that look impossible to call.
Frances Tiafoe, conqueror of Rafa Nadal, is bidding to maintain his new-found momentum against Andrey Rublev, who ended Cam Norrie’s hopes with ominous ease in the last round. Both players have the talent to go all the way to the final; neither has ever reached the semi-final at a grand slam.
Before that, it’s Karolina Pliskova v Aryna Sabalenka – two mainstays at the very top of the women’s game, somehow still without a grand slam title between them. Both players fought from a set down in the fourth round; their head-to-head record stands at 2-2. There’s no point trying to predict the outcome, but it should be fun finding out.