Day 10 is complete and the semi-finals have been set. The first match of the day was an intriguing one between 2 players who can be on form or off form. This match was between 6th seed Sabalenka and 22nd seed Pliskova. Pliskova started off very shaky with not much energy and Sabalenka capitalized on it as she dropped just 1 game in the opening set. Pliskova played a better 2nd set and managed to take it all the way to the tiebreak. Sabalenka managing to close out the match 7-4 in the breaker to book her spot in the semi-finals where she would play either 8th seed Pegula or 1st seed Swiatek. The number 1 in the world showed her class in the all-important opening set as she took it 6-3. The next set just as in the previous ladies quarter-final needed a tiebreak to decide it. Swiatek taking the tiebreak and the match. This makes her grand slam record for the year 22-2. Just outstanding numbers from the number in the world.

The first mens quarter-final was between 9th seed Rublev who had never reached a grand slam semi-final and 22nd seed American Tiafoe. The big question hanging over everyone’s head when this match began was if Tiafoe could replicate the amazing tennis played in his 4th round match against Nadal. The Big Foe managing to take the opening set in a tiebreak to prove that he was in fact playing some good tennis and was here to win. The next set went by with no player having a break point opportunity so once again we were heading into a tiebreak. The American played one of the best tiebreaks he will ever play as he took it 7-0 and he took a 2 sets to love lead. Tiafoe was the first and last player to break in the entire match in the third set. This break was enough as he served the match out at 5-4 and booked his spot in the semi-finals. He would be up against either Sinner or Alcaraz. Either of which would be a very tough opponent. They were the last match on for the day and what a match they put on. I won’t even try to put the match into words. 5 hours and 16 minutes later we finally had a result between the 2. These 2 will be playing a lot more of these matches in the future which makes the future of tennis a very good one. Sinner had an opportunity to serve the match out in the 4th set. He also had a match point in that game but Alcaraz not only saved the match point and broke Sinner but then also went on to take the next 2 games and with that the set. Alcaraz then managed to get the all-important break of serve and won the match with an ace to book his spot in the semi-finals. This means that the race for number 1 in the world is still firmly on between Nadal, Alcaraz and Ruud.

The picks lost today were Pegula (6 picks), Rublev (5 picks), Sinner (20 picks) and Pliskova (8 picks). Tiafoe is the only player left in the tournament that no one picked in the fantasy league.

Onto the fantasy leaderboard and we still have a tie in top spot but it’s between different teams. ‘Drop Shots’ is still 1 of them but ‘Eish’ is now the team in joint 1st on 211 points. Then behind the 2 leaders we have a tie for 3rd between ‘My Dream Team’ and ‘Simply Smashing’ both of whom are just 5 points off the leading pair. ‘Give Me A Break’ hangs onto their 5th spot. 2 more teams were eliminated after day 10. Those 3 teams were ‘Johnny Mac’, ‘What Was I Thinking? and ‘ ‘Saved by the Ball’ who once was competing for a prize position.

Match Results from Day 10

• Tiafoe(22) beat Rublev(9) – 7-6(3); 7-6(0); 6-4
• Alcaraz(3) beat Sinner(11) – 6-3; 6-7(7); 6-7(0); 7-5; 6-3
• Sabalenka(6) beat Pliskova(22) – 6-1; 7-6(4)
• Swiatek(1) beat Pegula(8) – 6-3; 7-6(4)

Ladies Semi-Final Day on Day 11

• Garcia(17) vs Jabeur(5) (01:00)
• Swiatek(1) vs Sabalenka(6) (02:30)

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.