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    • US Open schedule for Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek in the fourth round
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    US Open schedule for Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek in the fourth round

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    NEW YORK – The US Open is often a tournament where the grind of a long tennis season becomes visible and some of the best players struggle to reach the second week.

    But this year, the theme of the women’s competition is much the same: this year’s best players were the best players from New York.

    Not only have six of the top seven seeded players reached the round of 16 – with the exception of fourth seed Elena Rybakina, who withdrew from the second round due to injury – but other top-performing players such as former second seed Paula Badosa, rising star Diana Shnaider and recent Olympic silver medalist Donna Vekic have all advanced.

    It promises to be an exciting second week, with no fewer than 10 players having a realistic chance of taking home the trophy.

    These are the five must-watch fourth round matches on Sunday and Monday.

    Coco Gauff vs. Emma Navarro

    Although Navarro is three years older, she feels like the newcomer in the latter stages of Grand Slams. Just three years after winning the NCAA singles championship in Virginia, Navarro has quickly risen to No. 12 in the world rankings with a 48-19 record this year. And she achieved her most important victory to date at the expense of Gauff in the round of 16 at Wimbledon, outscoring her by a wide margin in a 6-4, 6-3 victory.

    Gauff struggled to maintain her composure and composure that day, but the US Open should be a more favorable environment for her. After all, she is the reigning champion and competes extremely hard in Arthur Ashe Stadium, no matter how she plays. The question is Gauff’s current level. Even in her 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Elina Svitolina on Friday, there were periods of questionable play. She will have to be much cleaner to beat Navarro, who is exceptionally fit and simply doesn’t miss many balls.

    Zheng Qinwen vs. Donna Vekic

    These two played for the gold medal in Paris a few weeks ago, with Zheng winning 6-2, 6-3. Life has been a whirlwind for Zheng since then, including a big trip back to China before heading to North America. In some ways, it’s surprising that she had the chops to make it to the second week here. But how far can she go after needing three sets to win two of those matches?

    This seems like a very good place for Vekic to turn things around, as she has made it through the first three rounds without dropping a set. Vekic has had a pretty spectacular summer, reaching the semifinals of Wimbledon before the Olympics.

    Jessica Pegula vs. Diana Shnaider

    Pegula’s 0-6 record in Grand Slam quarterfinals is the only sore point in a career that has far exceeded expectations. While she’d like to end that saga at the US Open, Pegula faces a huge test on Monday against Shnaider, who has already won three WTA titles this year at age 20.

    Shnaider, a Russian who covers her hair with a bandana on court, first came into the picture after winning a round at the 2023 Australian Open, but decided to attend NC State for a semester rather than turn pro right away.

    Since joining the tour full-time, Shnaider has been sensational, winning titles on hard courts, grass and clay this year. This is her first real run at a Grand Slam, but there will surely be many more to come. Shnaider has a great game, but how will it hold up under pressure against an experienced player like Pegula who is good at absorbing pace in baseline rallies?

    Karolina Muchova vs. Jasmine Paolini

    This one’s for the hardcore tennis fans. Muchova has had a career that has been rocky, with injuries derailing her every time she was on the verge of reaching the top of the sport. Paolini, after a few years of not being a factor at major tournaments, is suddenly everywhere, reaching back-to-back finals this summer at the French Open and Wimbledon.

    While Paolini is a fizzy ball of energy on court, Muchova is a smooth operator who probably has more stroke variety than any other player in women’s tennis. It says a lot about Muchova’s talent that she is playing in only her sixth tournament after more than nine months away due to wrist surgery. Muchova lost in the semifinals to Gauff last year.

    Iga Swiatek vs. Liudmila Samsonova

    The two matches they played in 2023 were not competitive, with Swiatek winning both easily. But Samsonova is, in theory at least, the type of player that would cause her problems: a big hitter who can make Swiatek uncomfortable by taking away her time to set up on the baseline. On the other hand, Samsonova is quite erratic, so it’s hard to know whether you’re going to get the good version or the wildly inaccurate version on any given day.

    Despite being No. 1 by a significant margin, Swiatek has had a tough year at Grand Slams outside of Roland Garros, which she won for the fourth time. After third-round exits in Australia and Wimbledon, there is some pressure on Swiatek to make another deep run before the end of the year.

    Vaseline
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