Day 9 and the first day of quarter-final action. The day began with a mens quarter-final between 13th seed Berrettini and 5th seed Ruud. Ruud started the match playing some sublime tennis while Berrettini just couldn’t find any sort of rhythm. This meant that Ruud lost just 2 out of the first 13 games to lead the first quarter-final 6-1; 5-1. Berrettini managed to hold in a tight game to make it 5-2. This was just what the Italian needed because the match took a slight turn as he broke and held to make it 5-4 in the 2nd set. All of a sudden it was the Norwegian who desperately needed to hold to close out the 2nd set. Thankfully for the 5th seed, he did just that and he led 2 set to love. Berrettini though had found a bit of rhythm and this allowed him to take the early lead in the 3rd set as he led 3-0 which then after some holds became 5-3. Unfortunately for Berrettini it just wasn’t his day as he was unable to hold his serve to close out the set and this led the set to become 6-6 and a tiebreak was then needed. A very impressive tiebreak from Ruud meant he took it 7-4 and booked his spot in the semi-finals to back up his good run at the French Open where he made the finals. This win also means that Ruud still stands a chance to take the number 1 ranking after the US Open. He will need to make the final for that to happen though. The 2nd match of the day was a ladies semi-final between 5th seed Jabeur and unseeded Australian Tomljanovic. Jabeur had the better start as she took the early break and led the match 3-1. Tomljanovic who has come back in most of her matches managed to hold and break and all of a sudden we were level again at 3-3. Unfortunately Tomljanovic could not hold serve at 3-3 and handed the break straight back to Jabeur who this time didn’t allow her opponent back into the set. Jabeur led 1 set to love. Jabeur then once again as she had done in the opening set took the early break and led 2-0 before Tomljanovic made it level again at 2-2. 2 breaks of serve later and we were 3-3. Both ladies struggling to hold serve. It was then Tomljanovic’s turn to take control of a set as she held and broke and was serving for the 2nd set at 5-3. Jabeur the broke to love and held to 30 to make it 5-5. 2 holds of serve later and we were heading into a 2nd set tiebreak. It was a tight tiebreak but it was Jabeur who took the first mini break and managed to win the match 7-4 in the breaker. Jabeur was through to another grand slam final this year.

The night session began with a ladies semi-final between young American and 12th seed Gauff and the in form 17th seed, Garcia. Garcia started off very quickly as she raced to a double break lead (4-0). After a long 5th game Gauff managed to break and she was on the board in this quarter-final. She used that momentum to hold serve and she so nearly broke at 4-2 but Garcia just about held on and she lead 5-2 first set. 2 holds later and the first set was Garcia’s. Once again Garcia got off to the perfect start in the 2nd set as she held and broke to lead 2-0. This break right at the beginning of the set proved to be enough as both ladies held serve to the end meaning that it was Garcia who would be moving on to the semi-finals where she will face a tough opponent in 5th seed Jabeur. The last match of the day was between 27th seed Khachanov and 23rd seed Kyrgios. Many people had written off Khachanov before the match after watching Kyrgios beat Medvedev but it was Khachanov who started the better of the 2 and took the opening set 7-5. Kyrgios though hit back in the 2nd and took it 6-4. Khachanov as he did in the first set took the 3rd set 7-5, to regain his lead in the match. Khachanov was just 1 set away from a spot in the semi-finals for the first time. In the 4th set Kyrgios managed to break Khachanov at 2-2 but couldn’t back it up with a hold and the set was level again at 3-3. 3 holds of serve each later and the 4th set needed a tiebreak. Kyrgios played a phenomenal tiebreak as he raced to a 6-1 lead before taking it 7-3 and forcing the match into a decider. Khachanov was surprisingly not flustered after missing the opportunity of taking the match in 4 sets and broke Kyrgios first game of the 5th set. This was enough as Khachanov went on to win the decider 6-4 to book his spot in the semi-finals for the first time at the US Open where he will face 5th seed Ruud.

Every player that lost on day 9 was a pick made by someone. The players who lost were Berrettini (11 picks), Kyrgios (24 picks), Tomljanovic (5 picks) and Gauff (30 picks).

Onto the leaderboard and ‘Drop Shots’ are not alone at the top anymore as ‘My Dream Team’ make it a joint 1st place. ‘Simply Smashing’ loses a little bit of ground as they find themselves 4 points off the lead in 3rd. Another 5 points back in 4th place is ‘Eish’ and the last prize position is occupied by ‘Give Me A Break’ in 5th spot. ‘Love All’ and ‘Magic Team’ sit joint last but ‘Love All’ has lost all their picks which means that they will win the wooden spoon for the US Open 2022. The other team which was eliminated after day 9 was ‘US not so open’ who currently sit in 55th spot.

Matches Played on Day 9

• Ruud(5) beat Berrettini(13) – 6-1; 6-4; 7-6(4)
• Jabeur(5) beat Tomljanovic – 6-4; 7-6(4)
• Garcia(17) beat Gauff(12) – 6-3; 6-4
• Khachanov(27) beat Kyrgios(23) – 7-5; 4-6; 7-5; 6-7(3); 6-4

Matches to watch on day 10

• Pliskova(22) vs Sabalenka(6) (18:00)
• Rublev(9) vs Tiafoe(22) (19:15)
• Swiatek(1) vs Pegula(8) (01:00)
• Sinner(11) vs Alacaraz(3) (02:15)

Jared

Jared matriculated in 2020 from Wynberg Boys High School in beautiful Cape Town, South Africa. His passion for tennis afforded him the opportunity of travelling to Europe. He is a quizmaster and a fantasy organiser.