Day 10 at the US Open proved to be a tough day for the selections, but the tight margins all seemingly went against the Tennis Picks made and that can happen.
Aryna Sabalenka won considerably more points than Linda Noskova, but lost more games than her opponent thanks to some wasteful moments on the Break Points and Jessica Pegula was also guilty of missing big opportunities to control her Quarter Final before eventually pushing through to the last four.
The Frances Tiafoe comeback began a set too late, but the frustration added up when thinking there was just enough juice in the Carlos Alcaraz performance to put me off backing Ben Shelton in some capacity.
Never mind, these things happen and the key is to try and remain focused and look for better results as the Quarter Finals are completed on Day 11 at the tournament.
A huge opportunity has opened up in the Men's tournament with Alcaraz joining Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner out of this Grand Slam, while the last three days of WTA action should be very special considering the talent and quality that has made it to this stage of the US Open.
Alexander Zverev - 6.5 games v Botic Van De Zandschulp: The third set might have been more competitive than the previous two, but Alexander Zverev will simply be pleased to have gotten through the Fourth Round match in straight sets.
That makes it seven straight sets won at the US Open and back to back straight sets wins means Alexander Zverev should have plenty of energy to take into the final few days in New York City. He is a considerable favourite to come through the top half of the draw as the top Seed and Alexander Zverev will be confident he can go one better than previously at the US Open and win a second Grand Slam in 2026.
Conserving some energy in the last couple of Rounds after back to back five setters will really help and the big question around this Quarter Final has to be about the fitness of Botic Van De Zandschulp.
The World Number 70 has had a very different tournament compared with Alexander Zverev.
Botic Van De Zandschulp began with consecutive straight sets wins, but he was 2-1 behind in sets in the Third Round before rallying in over four and a half hours to earn a spot in the Fourth Round. The Dutchman reached the Quarter Final at the US Open in his debut at the tournament in 2021, but Botic Van De Zandschulp has made one Fourth Round since then and had not made that stage of any Grand Slam in sixteen previous attempts.
It made that win in the Third Round really important, but Botic Van De Zandschulp went one better in the Fourth Round by recovering from losing the opening two sets, saving Match Point and breaking serve at the end of the fourth set before eventually completing a huge comeback against Arthur Gea. That Fourth Round match was won in five hours and eighteen minutes and the 30 year old looked absolutely shattered by the end, which makes that question about recovery so important.
Even if he was fully healthy, Botic Van De Zandschulp would be a big underdog against the World Number 2.
His serve can be an important weapon, but Van De Zandschulp has been broken fourteen times in the last two matches and you do have to believe that is partly down to the fatigue building up. The record on the hard courts this summer has been decent without being spectacular, and Botic Van De Zandschulp will have to find something special to overcome the challenger across the other side of the net.
Alexander Zverev looks to be peaking towards the weekend and he is serving well enough to keep the unseeded player under pressure and eventually the French Open Champion should be able to exploit any mental and physical tiredness felt by Botic Van De Zandschulp to earn a solid Quarter Final win.
Elena Rybakina - 3.5 games v Qinwen Zheng: Fifteen months ago, Qinwen Zheng was the World Number 4 and the young player looked like being the next first time Grand Slam Winner on the WTA Tour.
Injuries have blighted her progress over that time period since entering the top five and that meant Qinwen Zheng entered the US Open as the World Number 121. She could not use a Protected Ranking after rushing back in 2025 to try and take part in Beijing, and that has meant entering the Qualifiers here at the US Open.
Three matches were won to reach the main draw, but Qinwen Zheng has used that momentum to move through the draw with some stunning wins already behind her. Beating Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek would have been considerable achievements anyway, but doing so having recovered from huge deficits within sets played has only added to the sporting drama.
Qinwen Zheng is a confident player and she cannot be dismissed as a threat to win it all from here.
The 23 year old has always been comfortable on the hard courts and she will take added confidence from the fact she has pushed Elena Rybakina twice this season, even if she ultimately did come up short both times.
There is a huge carrot at the end of this Quarter Final match for Elena Rybakina- a win here and she will be guaranteed to become the new World Number 1, although it still feels a matter of time before she reaches the summit of the WTA Rankings. The World Number 2 has clearly been able to focus on the matches as they have come up at the US Open and Elena Rybakina has shown how capable she is of backing up the Australian Open success by picking up another hard court Grand Slam here in New York City.
Winning the Grand Slam will feel more important than the World Ranking and Elena Rybakina showed against Naomi Osaka how effective she can be against some of the other big hitters on the Tour. The serve is a key weapon to create scoreboard pressure and Rybakina has heavy groundstrokes that can push any opponent back behind the baseline, including Qinwen Zheng.
The latter looked to be running close to empty in the gas tank before rallying for a good win over Iga Swiatek in the Fourth Round, but this is another big test for Qinwen Zheng.
She has shown she can stand up to Elena Rybakina, but the amount of tennis that has been played over the last several days cannot be ignored and the higher Ranked player may end up showing off a superior serve, which can pave the way for a place in the Semi Final.
Coco Gauff - 3.5 games v Mirra Andreeva: The former US Open Champion produced a clinical display to beat a young compatriot in the Fourth Round and Coco Gauff will have eyes on winning the title in New York City for a second time, which may also be enough to secure the World Number 1 Ranking for the first time.
By the time she steps onto the court, the Number 1 Ranking may be beyond her for another week and that may actually help Coco Gauff focus all the more in trying to win this Grand Slam.
It has been a strong year in the Majors with Coco Gauff reaching a third Quarter Final at this level and becoming the youngest American player to do that in over twenty years. Ultimately the ambition is to turn one of these runs into a first Grand Slam title since the French Open in June 2025 and Coco Gauff is playing with a huge amount of confidence right now.
Beating Iva Jovic in straight sets means Coco Gauff has won twenty sets in succession on the hard courts as she looks to back up the Cincinnati title by taking home the big prize in New York City on Saturday afternoon. The numbers have been really impressive throughout her time at the US Open and Coco Gauff is also going to take a huge amount of confidence from the fact she has beaten Mirra Andreeva in all five professional matches.
While Coco Gauff is searching for a first Grand Slam title in 2026, Mirra Andreeva is the French Open Champion taking over that title from the player she is facing in the Quarter Final here.
Mirra Andreeva will be the first to admit that she was not at her best in the Fourth Round and the World Number 5 has yet to find the consistency she would like on the hard courts.
Winning four matches here will have given Mirra Andreeva a boost, but her numbers have been declining in each Round compared with the one before and that is not going to cut it against the beloved American standing across the other side of the net.
Serving well is going to be all important for Mirra Andreeva, but she has lost her last five hard court matches against top 20 Ranked opponents and she has not been able to get into return games as much as she would have wanted in those matches either.
These two have not met on the hard courts since the 2023 US Open when Coco Gauff showed she still had too much experience for Mirra Andreeva.
It is a gap that has certainly shrunk now, but Coco Gauff may have a bit more consistency out of the serve and that can ultimately pave the way for another Semi Final spot for the World Number 4.
MY PICKS: Alexander Zverev - 6.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)
Elena Rybakina - 3.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (2 Units)
Coco Gauff - 3.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet365 (2 Units)
US Open Update: 27-20, + 3.48 Units (94 Units Staked, + 3.70% Yield)
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