American players did a little bit of everything on Sunday at the U.S. Open. The headliners, of course, were Serena and Venus Williams. Following a pair of fourth-round victories, the Williams sisters assured that they will face each other in a quarterfinal showdown on Tuesday.
Venus won first on Sunday afternoon, crushing Anett Kontaveit 6-2, 6-1.
“Today definitely was my highest level (of the tournament),” Venus assessed. “The last round was pretty high, too. I think my opponent today was very good. She took a lot of risks. I think just the experience helped me to be able to keep the scoreline a lot easier.”
Serena had an easier time than many expected. The world No. 1 went up against countrywoman Madison Keys and powered her way to a 6-3, 6-3 win. Thus the sibling rivals will go head-to-head again on Tuesday.
“I think it’s more fun than it used to be,” Serena said of playing matches against Venus. “We really relish the opportunity. We’re both happy to still be involved in getting so far. And it’s still super intense. She’s doing well and she wants to win this. So do I. It’s not easy.”
Speaking of not easy, Donald Young’s epic run in New York will resume against reigning French Open champion Stan Wawrinka on Monday. Young has already won two matches in five sets (over Gilles Simon and Viktor Troicki), both times coming back from two sets down. Wawrinka has not yet dropped a set in New York.
Monday will also feature the following Americans: Varvara Lepchenko in women’s singles, John Isner in men’s singles, Eric Butorac, Scott Lipsky, Rajeev Ram, Steve Johnson, Sam Querrey, Michael Russell, and Young in men’s doubles, and Tommy Paul and Michael Mmoh in boys’ singles–among plenty of others.
Isner is through to the last 16 without the loss of a set and he will take on Roger Federer in the Labor Day nightcap.
The host nation is already off to a good start in the boys’ event, as Taylor Harry Fritz and Reilly Opelka earned victories on Sunday. Fritz, the No. 1 seed in singles, made quick work of France’s Ugo Humbert 6-4, 6-2. Opelka, the Wimbledon champion, took care of Canada’s Alejandro Tabilo 6-1, 6-4.
“That’s great,” Young said of the success being enjoyed by the success of the United States contingent at this tournament in 2015. “We’re in the U.S. Americans want to see Americans on TV. That’s the thing. I know growing up, I wanted to see Americans on TV, which were Agassi, Sampras, Courier, McEnroe….
“It’s awesome for [Isner] and I. He’s been doing it longer than me and more consistently. For me to get in there every once in a while and hopefully become consistent, it’s awesome.
Topics: American Tennis, Atp World Tour, Donald Young jr, John Isner, Ricky Dimon, Serena Williams, Sports, Taylor Fritz, Tennis News, US Open, Venus Williams
AMERICAN FLAVOR TO LABOR DAY WEEKEND AT U.S. OPEN BY RICKY DIMON http://t.co/L48oyP9Uvb #tennis #USOpen2015 @Dimonator #Isner #Young #Serena