US Open champion Serena Williams, former New York finalists Daniil Medvedev and Victoria Azarenka, and three-time major finalist Dominic Thiem all notched quarterfinal wins on Day 10.
Here's our look at the Wednesday's action, which also featured a dramatic women's doubles semifinal match in Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Serena the closer: On the baseball diamond at nearby Citi Field, ball clubs bring in their closer when it’s winning time. In getting the first of the last three outs that she needs to win Grand Slam singles title No. 24, Serena Williams was once again untouchable down the stretch in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
It got late early in the day’s opening match, as the 38-year-old trailed fellow super-mom Tsvetana Pironkova by a set and an early break. But from 3-all, 15-30 on serve in the second, Williams found her fastball to win nine of the match’s final 11 games and book a spot in the US Open semis for the 14th time.
It was a similar story in Williams’ previous two matches, when she won six of the last seven games to defeat Maria Sakkari in the Round of 16, and 10 of the last 12 to beat Sloane Stephens in Round 3, coming back from behind in both matches.
“It's not how you start; it's how you finish, right?” Serena said in her post-match press interview. “I'm OK. I'm ready to play three sets every match if I have to. It doesn't matter. A win is a win.”
Williams hit 21 aces in the match, the most she’s hit in over eight years, according to the WTA.
Azarenka sets Serena rematch: We'll see a rematch of the 2012 and 2013 US Open finals when Victoria Azarenka takes on Williams on Thursday. The unseeded Belarusian put an abrupt end to Elise Mertens' perfect run to the quarterfinals with a stunning 6-1, 6-0 victory. The No. 16-seeded Belgian had not previously dropped a set during the fortnight, but that ended after a 35-minute opening set in Ashe.
Azarenka broke in each of her six return games and produced 21 winners to just 11 unforced errors in a vintage performance that runs her NYC winning streak up to 10, after her Western & Southern Open title run.
