The 2024 US Open is heating up with several major developments:
Coco Gauff’s Title Defense Ends: Coco Gauff, the reigning champion, was upset by Emma Navarro, ending her title defense earlier than expected.
On Sunday, playing against Emma Navarro in front of a capacity crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Gauff had her hopes of a repeat title dashed in the fourth round. The 20-year-old dropped the opening set, and while she managed to force a decider, she simply couldn’t overcome her poor serving. She had 19 double faults and wasn’t able to pull off another signature comeback. After two hours and 12 minutes, she headed for the exits after a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 loss.
Men’s Singles Drama: Andrey Rublev had an emotional meltdown in his five-set loss to Grigor Dimitrov, injuring his hand by hitting himself with his racquet.
Grigor Dimitrov withstood Andrey Rublev’s comeback attempt and returned to the U.S. Open quarterfinals Sunday with a 6-3, 7-6 (3), 1-6, 3-6, 6-3 victory.
Surprising Exits and Advances: World No. 1 Jannik Sinner continues his strong run, avoiding an early exit like Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.
Their departures leave the tournament in a fascinating position. Two top three men’s seeds have not been defeated so early at the US Open since 2000 and the men’s draw is as open as it has been in years, alongside the bizarre 2020 edition at the height of Covid restrictions. Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev are the only grand slam champions left in the draw while Medvedev is the only former US Open champion.
On Monday, Jannik Sinner plays Tommy Paul, who is one of the ATP’s best all-around athletes, and will have the full backing of the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd.
Iga Swiatek and Caroline Wozniacki are making solid progress.
World No.1 Iga Swiatek eased past 25th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova with a 6-4, 6-2 victory to book her spot in a fourth straight US Open Round of 16 on Saturday night.
On Saturday, the 34-year-old Wozniacki defeated French qualifier Jessika Ponchet 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the Round of 16. She’ll play No.22 Beatriz Haddad Maia on Monday. The Brazilian defeated 15th seed Anna Kalinskaya 6-3, 6-1 to advance to her first US Open Round of 16.