Updates from the US Open quarter finals

September 8, 2021
The GIST: It’s the middle of the quarter-final round at the US Open, and tennis’s young guns are winning both matches and the hearts of New Yorkers.
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Updates from the US Open quarter finals
Source: Elisa Amendola/AP Photo

Women’s draw: After downing two former world No. 1’s in Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber, unseeded Canadian Leylah Annie Fernandez upset yet another top contender, world No. 5 Elina Svitolina, in yesterday’s quarter-final action.

  • With maple syrup and the love and adoration of the New York fans behind her, the 19-year-old underdog will take on world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka (who beat Barbora Krejčíková in yesterday's other quarter-final) in tomorrow’s semi.
  • Two more quarters are on tap today: 18-year-old Brit Emma Raducanu plays Belinda Bencic at noon ET, and Maria Sakkari and Karolína Plíšková face off at 7 p.m. ET.

Men’s draw: Another Canadian also made his way to the semis last night. Twenty-one-year-old Félix Auger-Aliassime (FAA) won after Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz Garfia retired during the second set, so FAA will now play world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev Friday.

  • Meanwhile, quarter-final action continues today with Alexander Zverev and Lloyd Harris at 1:15 p.m. ET, followed by Novak Djokovic vs. Matteo Berrettini in primetime.

WTF: It’s not all sunshine and roses at the US Open though. The online abuse faced by many women is shocking and saddening, with American Shelby Rogers anticipating death threats after her loss to Raducanu, and Sloane Stephens revealing she received at least 2,000 racist and sexist messages after her third-round oust.

And with athletes like Naomi Osaka hinting at taking an indefinite hiatus from tennis, it makes you question whether being a pro female athlete with good mental health is even possible.