It’s been a pretty unexpected tournament so far. There are both qualifiers and teenagers in the US Open quarter-finals.
I wrote about the impressive tournament of Botic van de Zandschulp in a previous post. Let’s add that Emma Raducanu is in the quarter-finals alongside Leylah Fernandez in the women’s tournament (and I wouldn’t be shocked if either of them ended up winning it!), and Alcaraz is playing Auger-Aliassime in the men’s quarter-final. You’re feeling the tides of time hit tennis at this US Open and perhaps it’s about time.
But there is one constant still: Novak Djokovic. He lost the first set to talented Jenson Brooksby (not quite a teenager, but close) but then he went into that mode where no currently active player can reach him (perhaps Medvedev or Zverev at this US Open?) and won the remaining sets without problems. Djokovic is definitely playing well enough to win his fourth grand slam of the year and his 21st overall. The question is if Zverev/Medvedev/Berrettini can rise to the occasion and defeat him. Despite how well both Zverev and Medvedev are playing, it’s difficult to see them actually beating Djokovic in five sets. But we have seen stranger things.
The US Open Quarter-finals 2021
Check out the odds and tennis player stats for the US Open quarter-finals.
My prediction for the semi-finals on the men’s side is that Djokovic faces Zverev and Auger-Aliassime plays Medvedev. Nothing surprising there, I just feel like experience will win out at this stage of a Grand Slam.
The women’s side is more difficult to predict. I think Raducanu will keep on winning because she has not even dropped many games so far. Raducanu vs Pliskova is an interesting semi-final, while I think we will see Fernandez vs Krejcikova on the other side of the draw. I am predicting the 18-year-olds to keep playing strong and fearless tennis also in the later stages of this tournament.
What are your predictions for the US Open quarter-finals 2021?
2 comments
Djoco for sure is the favourite. Zverev has however made big improvements and will make it very tough for Djoco. The olympic win will boost Zverevs confidence. But….Djoco manages to win despite not always being on top.
For the ladies, very exciting indeed. I still think that eventually experience will matter and both teenagers will soon play a less than ideal match. I think Sakkari would be a worthy winner as she is a great example of why fitness matters. Krejcikova is perhaps the favourite but let’s see about her latest problem in her previous match.
Great to see new blood in both men’s and women’s tennis. This is exactly what the sport needs as Nadal and Federer are about to exit the limelight. Djoco will end up with 22-25 Grands Slams at the least if he manages to stay motivated enough after nr 21.
And by the way……I can’t think of any other sport where it is possible to watch a game and pretty much every minute is exciting…..even though the match can last 5 hours!! I don’t think I would sit for 5 hours watching a soccer game :)
Tennis players are true gladiators. Playing a tournament such as the US Open must be extremely hard on the body. Every match 2-4 hours and they play several matches within 2 weeks if they reach the latter stages. Incredibly that they can withstand it and still avoid getting injured all the time.