The US Open continues to roll through into the business end of the event and Day 10 is all about the remaining Quarter Final matches.
There have been some quality matches throughout this tournament and hopefully more to come, with some winners in the book.
Jannik Sinner - 1.5 sets v Daniil Medvedev: There are eight players left in the men's tournament at the US Open as we reach the Quarter Final stage of the 2024 event, but these two players might be the favourites to reach the Final if they had not had the misfortune of running into one another now.
Daniil Medvedev has regularly reached the Final of the two hard court Grand Slam tournaments played during the year, and he is also a former US Open Champion.
Jannik Sinner is not only the World Number 1, but he is the current Australian Open Champion having come from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev in the Final right at the start of the season.
It is a victory that continued Sinner's recent domination of this match up, although it was Medvedev who won when the two met at Wimbledon in July. On that day Daniil Medvedev came through in five sets, although Sinner fans will feel that their man was not at 100% and so can turn things back around in his favour.
From the form shown in New York City, it is very easy to understand that feeling and Jannik Sinner looks to be fighting through any outside pressure felt when it was disclosed he had been cleared for failing a drug test earlier this year. It was only announced last month that any issue had been faced by the Italian, but the fans have not really gotten involved in his matches as may have been expected.
They have learned to love to hate Daniil Medvedev, which will not bother the World Number 5 at all, but the likelihood is that Sinner is going to be allowed to play his tennis. Even if the fans are supporting his opponent, the win over Tommy Paul in the Fourth Round underlines the feeling that Sinner is a man on a mission.
The numbers suggest Daniil Medvedev is growing into the US Open, where he has beaten the likes of Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz in big matches before. However, it should also be pointed out that he has not won a match against any opponent inside the top 30 at the US Open in this current run and this is a big step upwards.
Jannik Sinner is the Cincinnati Champion and playing at a really solid level right now, while the serve is proving to be a big weapon for the World Number 1. The matches in Grand Slams this season have been close and competitive and both have lasted five sets, but this time Sinner may just have the qualities to not only get past Daniil Medvedev without going the distance, but also to win the US Open to ensure he is holder of both hard court Grand Slam titles before entering 2025.
Karolina Muchova - 3.5 games v Beatriz Haddad Maia: The play was to back Naomi Osaka to get the better of Karolina Muchova when the two met in the Second Round of the US Open, but the latter won that match and has grown from strength to strength.
There were moments in the win over Naomi Osaka that it looked like the match would turn, especially when down three Set Points in the second set, but Karolina Muchova held herself together much better than the former US Open Champion did.
It has all changed in the last couple of wins with Karolina Muchova dominating those matches and the numbers reflect that.
Despite an injury hit year, Karolina Muchova looks to have found her best form at the right time and it is going to take some effort to stop her run at the US Open.
Next up is Beatriz Haddad Maia who had not shown a lot of form in the lead up to the US Open before reaching the Final in Cleveland days before the final Grand Slam of the season was set to begin. The layers were not convinced that this was a turning point for the Brazilian, but she has looked a confident player in New York City and Haddad Maia has come through four matches pretty impressively.
The win over Caroline Wozniacki in the Fourth Round was a bit tighter, but Beatriz Haddad Maia won and that will give her confidence. She will believe her year on the Tour means she is perhaps used to the bigger stage a bit more than Karolina Muchova, who is dealing with the additional pressure of expectation, and that may just give the World Number 21 some hope.
However, this has not been the best match up for Beatriz Haddad Maia previously and this is something that Karolina Muchova will have noted.
They have played twice on the hard courts before, in 2022 and 2023, and it is Karolina Muchova who has won both matches and with something to spare. Her style is a tough one to deal with and Muchova looks like a player looking to make up for missing a number of months on the Tour and the feeling is she can book her place in the US Open Semi Final with a quality win.
MY PICKS: Jannik Sinner - 1.5 Sets @ 1.72 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Karolina Muchova - 3.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (2 Units)
US Open Update: 24-15, + 11.06 Units (78 Units Staked, + 14.18% Yield)
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