And then there were four; four players vying for one Grand Slam final spot in one of the most up-for-grabs halves of a draw in recent history. It is coming down to Sam Querrey, Kevin Anderson, Pablo Carreno Busta, and Diego Schwartzman.
(17) Sam Querrey vs. (28) Kevin Anderson
Querrey and Anderson will be squaring off in the second week of a second consecutive major when they meet again in the U.S. Open quarterfinals on Tuesday. Two of the game’s taller players and bigger servers just faced each other in the Wimbledon fourth round, with Querrey prevailing 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-7(11), 6-3 on his way to the semifinals. They also collided a few weeks later on the hard courts of Montreal, where Anderson cruised 6-4, 6-1.
Of course, the 6’8” South African will have to do more than pick up a win in round three of Masters 1000 event in order to fully avenge a five-set loss at a Grand Slam. Anderson gave himself another shot at Querrey by coasting through a section of the draw that opened up nicely when Borna Coric stunned No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev last Wednesday. In addition to beating Coric, Anderson has also advanced with victories over J.C. Aragone, Ernests Gulbis, and Paolo Lorenzi while dropping only one set to Lorenzi in the process. Querrey is back in business at another major following defeats of Gilles Simon, Dudi Sela, Radu Albot, and Mischa Zverev. The world No. 21, who lost one set to Albot, has been positively on fire at times–to the extent that he has orchestrated the two fastest beatdowns of this U.S. Open (beat Sela in 1:21 and beat Zverev in 1:16). Anderson, though, is much different beast than Sela and a hobbled Zverev. The 28th seed had not been broken a single time in New York until being victimized twice by Lorenzi–even though the Italian had only two break points. Anderson, a recent runner-up in Washington, D.C. and quarterfinalist in Montreal, looks poised for his first slam quarterfinal.
Pick:Â Anderson in 5
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(12) Pablo Carreno Busta vs. (29) Diego Schwartzman
Shockingly, Carreno Busta and Schwartzman will be going head-to-head for the very first time in their careers on Tuesday. And what a time for it. This marks Schwartzman’s first-ever Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance and Carreno Busta’s second–his second in a row, in fact. Carreno Busta’s first one did not end well, as he retired at the French Open due to an abdominal injury against fellow Spaniard and eventual champion Rafael Nadal. Now it is Carreno Busta who may be the one benefiting from a hobbled opponent, as Schwartzman struggled with an apparent groin injury during his fourth-round victory over Lucas Pouille on Sunday.
When healthy, though, Schwartzman has been outstanding this season. The 5’7” Argentine owns almost half of his career ATP-level match wins in 2017 (28 of 59) and he recently advanced to the Montreal quarters. He is through to the same stage of the U.S. Open thanks to defeats of Carlos Berlocq, Janko Tipsarevic, Marin Cilic, and Pouille. Carreno Busta did not drop a single set in victories over Evan King, Cameron Norrie, Nicolas Mahut, and Denis Shapovalov on his way to the last eight. Combine the world No. 19’s form with Schwartzman’s possible injury and this will likely be the end of the road for the field’s smallest player.
Pick:Â Carreno Busta in 3
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Agree with Ricky
I already said I think Anderson will make the final..
I dunno how you can pick against Querrey after his last performance but I would say Anderson is my second choice for the final. That said, my picks are Querrey in four and PCB in four
Same here. I’d love to see Shortman win but if he’s injured…hope he can at least get a set.
Querrey Anderson 50:50 to me,but home advantage might help so I’ll go with Sam in five.
PCB in four.
OTOH,Querrey is a quiet sort who might not cope as well with the spotlight .So home support might even work against him.He’s no Connors.
Anderson and Querrey are very evening matched players. Its almost 50/50 so i reckon the surface comes into play. On grass, Querrey can transition to the net and has a better net game than Anderson but on this surface the American hardcourts i’d probably give the slight edge to Anderson’s baseline game.
Both ave been equally impressive en route to 1/4s but think Lorenzi might be the better formline given he’s an all-out baseliner.
Anderson in 5.
Well if you look at their last matches, Querrey’s performance and final result was far more impressive than Anderson’s and pretty much everyone else’s. He hit 55 winners including 18 aces and only 8 unforced errors. You will rarely, if at all, see a better performance than that.
Ok, sounds like Querrey will be very hard to beat then. This is no doubt his best year on tour so far.
I’m giving Querrey the edge on the form he’s shown this year, esp. at Wimby. But if it came to a baseline slugging match, Anderson is slightly better.
Just noticed a few posting about home advantage. I think Anderson is pretty much American with citizenship isnt he? …American wife etc
Most of Anderson’s best results have been in the US. I dont think he’ll be affected by the crowd whatsoever and will feel at home.
Im going with Schwartzman in this one, i think he’s been knocking on the door for a big result and this is his opportunity. If you look at the players he’s beaten en route the 1/4s (Pouille, Cilic), they are far superior to Carenno Busta’s (Shapalov). Shapalov is still a bit of a hit and miss, don’t think he handled the crowd and played like the kid he still is, an 18 year old.
This is a tough one, bothj excellent baseliners but i think Schwarztman can win this in 5, maybe 4 sets.
Damn, Carreno Busta is good eh. Straight sets. Got that one completely wrong.
Maybe this is Careno Busta’s time, to do something special against the top players.
I am very happy for PCB. This is a great result for him. Well done!
PCB played the big points great. Schwartzman was rolling in the second set and had triple break point, but Pablo played an incredible few points to win the game and basically cruised from there. Would like to see him in the title, but I’m picking the winner of the other quarter, probably Anderson.
you have Anderson beating Fed/Rafa? BOLD.
I think he meant in the title match as in he thinks Anderson will make the title match. If he meant he has Anderson winning the whole thing then beyond bold it is.
Well done PCB! Hoping to see another Spaniard joining him in the semis……..
Who would’ve thought we would have Carreno Busta in the semifinals and he would not drop a set to get there?! Just awesome story right there. #vamos
that he is in the semis is not a big surprise given the draw. that he hasn’t dropped a single set, however, is beyond absurd
^I absolutely agree with this 100%!
Yeah, sounds easy, but to be fair, he did have three tiebreaks against Shapo.
Yeah the not dropping a set is the real stunning part. You’d think Rafa or Roger would be the ones to do that but nope. Carreno Busta will be the only semifinalist who hasn’t dropped a set still.
If Querrey loses tonight and Anderson doesn’t win the event, Carreno Busta is in the top 10. Also he is top 10 if he wins the semis, no matter what happens between Querrey and Anderson. If he wins the tourney he is ranked 6.
would prefer to see a new GS champ here for men tennis to look more competitive rather than never ending big 3 dominance.
Not gonna happen but if it does it could only be a god mode Querrey imo. And it’s very unlikely he produces a godly performance again like the one vs Mischa. Paying Rafa or Roger, he probably wouldn’t be able to do what he did against Mischa even if he was feeling the ball just as well as he did in that match.
Playing*
That was an unreal turnaround from Anderson. That set could be crucial.
Both players just trying to choke it away. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. Querrey serving up 6-1 in the second set breaker loses the lead now it’s 8-8.
And now it’s 11-9 Querrey, 1 set each. Can’t work up much interest in which guy wins, really.
Anderson saying come on after every point he wins is so annoying. GO SAM
You can just see how nervous these guys are. Such a strange match with random momentum swings and crazy chokes from each guy then out of nowhere they come up with an amazing shot. Crazy stuff. They both realize how important this match is. Also it kind of disgusts me how little support there is in the freaking quarterfinals of the US Open with an American playing. If one of the big four was playing the stadium would be packed, even with how late it is.
I’m pretty disgusted with the support too, Benny. So sad
also this match is way better than people are giving it credit for
Yeah this is exciting to watch. I don’t think the overall level is bad there have just been so many dips. That start of the second set breaker was especially electric but then the momentum shifted and then that CRAZY miss at 6-6 by Anderson. I’m so impressed with how he has bounced back. He deserves this win if he gets it. Tremendous bounce back after dropping such an agonizing second set.
Also I just said I couldn’t believe what I was watching because of the momentum shifts and twists and turns not because of poor quality or anything like that. This is a much higher quality contest than PCB vs Schwartzman which still had some pretty good hitting.
or for a Frenchman at the French, Aussie at the Aussie, or British man at Wimbledon
Epic tennis from Anderson!! Amazing point to make it 5-5 and then an ace. Clutch stuff.
This is just ball bashing at its finest. Querrey just totally bombed that holy moly. 6-6. This is insanely tight.
Longest rally of the match at 6-6 then another pretty long rally. High quality ball striking.
Props to Ricky for calling the win. ANDERSON AND CARRENO BUSTA IS THE BOTTOM HALF US OPEN SEMIFINAL!! 31 YEARS OLD AND HIS FIRST SLAM SEMIFINAL. Both guys were seemingly tight early, hitting big but missing some important shots. The level just raised towards the end. And you gotta love Kevin Anderson. Completely deserved this victory. Such a hard worker who has come back so strong from that injury he suffered around the time he made the top 10 a couple years ago. First South African in a grand slam semifinal from the ATP or WTA. So happy for this guy. Querrey may be American but I really wasn’t sure who to root for and I’m just fine with this result. Now I gotta go to bed!!
Props to Kevin, 1st Slam semi, yay!
I like this result because Sam has beaten Rafa recently and Anderson has not, so better for Rafa to play Anderson should both advance to the final. Also, PCB has not given Rafa problems before…
Now tennis Gods…………I implore, beg, beseech you to show mercy and eternal kindness towards thy little lamb, Rafael Nadal Parera, so that he breaks narry a sweat against Rublev and dispatches Federer with customary aplomb, on his way to the final.
Not forgetting us Rafa’s fans……………..you owe us big time, ye Gods. Don’t think we have forgotten your merciless teasing at more than 3 Slams I can think of, AO’17 being one. We deserve some happiness too……..
Oh, one more thing, a Rafa win will shut @Sanju’s doubts about Rafa down. Even you would welcome that, no? ?
I sure hope I am shut totally. I would love that. Let’s see.