U.S. Open Day 10 Preview: Djokovic and Murray Set for Clash in Quarterfinals

Day 10 of the U.S. Open features four exciting quarterfinal matches, two on the men’s and two on the women’s side, as eight players seek births into the final four at Flushing Meadows.

Over on the men’s side, a rematch of the 2012 U.S. Open final highlights the day’s action. Andy Murray won this tournament two years ago in an epic five-set match. His opponent that day was Novak Djokovic, who was the defending champion at the time after he defeated Rafael Nadal in the 2011 final. The two will meet under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium, closing Wednesday evening’s action.

On Wednesday, the two will meet again, only this time in the tournament’s quarterfinals. Djokovic comes in as the top-seed and is seeking entry into his eighth consecutive U.S. Open semifinal, while Murray is seeded eighth and playing in his fourth consecutive quarterfinal match in Flushing Meadows.

Both players had to deal with the brutal heat in their fourth round wins on Monday, and each were able to win their respective matches in straight sets in order to get off the court quicker. The Serbian leads the all-time head-to-head matchup 12-8, with the pair’s most recent match coming at the ATP Masters 100 tournament in Miami earlier this year.

Third-seeded Swiss Stan Wawrinka will take on 10th seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan for only the third time in their careers in the third match this afternoon at Ashe. Nishikori is fresh off his four-plus hour victory over Milos Raonic that didn’t end until the early hours of Tuesday morning, while Wawrinka knocked off Spaniard Tommy Robredo in four sets earlier in the day.

Wawrinka is seeking his second consecutive U.S. Open semifinal appearances as he reached the final four last year before falling to Djokovic. This is Nishikori’s best showing at Flushing Meadows, as he hopes to become the first Japanese player in the Open Era to reach a Grand Slam semifinal.

The two have reached this point playing two different styles of tennis. Wawrinka has used power and his serve to blow past his opponents, ripping 43 aces through his first three matches (he received a walkover into the fourth round) compared to just 22 for Nishikori. In contrast, the 24-year-old from Japan has played excellent defense and utilized his return skills to notch 20 break points thus far in Flushing Meadows, with the biggest of those break points coming against the big-serving Raonic.

Two-time defending champion Serena Williams highlights the action on the women’s side of the draw, as the top-seeded American takes on the 11th seeded Flavia Pennetta of Italy for a spot in the semifinals at 7:00 p.m. under the lights at Ashe. Williams is 5-0 all-time versus the Italian, the most recent win just a few weeks ago in Cincinnati where Williams rolled to a 6-2, 6-2 victory.

With her doubles tournament over, Serena can turn her undivided attention to the singles draw, where she is three wins away from a third straight U.S. Open title. She has struggled this year in Grand Slams, however, with this being her first quarterfinal of any major in 2014. Serena can become the first woman 32 years of age or older to reach a U.S. Open semifinal since Martina Navratilova in 1991.

Standing in her way is the tall Italian who is seeking entry into just her second career Grand Slam semifinal. She rolled past Australian Casey Dellacqua 7-5, 6-2 in her fourth-round match, and comes into today’s match with a 2-7 record versus world number ones.

The other quarterfinal bout on the women’s draw, also this afternoon at Arthur Ashe Stadium, features two-time U.S. Open runner-up Victoria Azarenka, the 16th seed from Belarus, taking on 17th seeded Ekaterina Makarova from Russia. Azarenka leads the all-time matchup 3-2, but the two haven’t met since 2013 in Madrid. Makarova is seeking her first ever Grand Slam semifinal appearance, as she faltered in her three prior quarterfinal matches. She has yet to drop a set all tournament long, and is coming off her upset over seventh-seeded Canadian Eugenie Bouchard in the fourth-round earlier in the week.

She faces a tall-task in Azarenka, who ousted 21-year-old Aleksandra Krunic in an exciting three-set match under the lights at Ashe on Monday night. The former world number one has reached the finals in Flushing Meadows two years in a row, only to fall short each time to Serena Williams. She carries a 28-8 career record at the US Open into this match, and could get another shot at Williams should both players advance Wednesday.

Click here for the complete schedule of Day 10 action at the US Open.