The last four quarter-finalists of the US Open will be determined on Monday as seven seeded players are in action alongside American comeback king Donald Young. A pair of USA vs. Switzerland showdowns are set for Arthur Ashe Stadium as Young challenges Roland Garros champion Stan Wawrinka, then No. 1 American John Isner defends his perfect service record against five-time US Open winner Roger Federer. On Louis Armstrong Stadium, 2012 US Open champ Andy Murrayfaces Kevin Anderson for the fifth time in 15 months, then a pair of former US Open semi-finalists go head-to-head when Tomas Berdychmeets Richard Gasquet.
In the opening match on Ashe, Young looks to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final in 26 major appearances when he plays Wawrinka for the third time. Both of their prior meetings came on a hard court in 2011 – Wawrinka winning in three sets at ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai just six weeks after Young upset him at the US Open 7-6 in the fifth. Young has rallied from two sets down twice at this year’s US Open, doing so to defeat No. 11 seed Gilles Simon in the first round and No. 22 seed Viktor Troicki in the third round. The Atlanta resident is the first player since fellow left-hander Gilles Muller in 2008 to post a pair of 0-2 comebacks at the US Open. Wawrinka, on the other hand, has not lost a set this week and is seeking his eighth quarter-final berth in the last nine majors.
Under the lights on Ashe, Federer looks to become the first player to break Isner in Flushing Meadows since Philipp Kohlschreiber did so in the third round of the 2013 US Open. Isner has held serve 93 straight games in 2014-15: all 54 of his service games at last year’s US Open and all 39 so far this year. He’s saved 14 break points across the two years. Fresh out of college at the 2007 US Open, Isner took the first set off Federer in a tie-break before being broken five times by the Swiss in their third-round encounter. Federer went on to capture the fourth of his five consecutive US Open titles and has beaten Isner in three of four meetings since. Federer leads overall 4-1.
On Armstrong, Murray continues his campaign for a second US Open title despite falling behind two sets to love in the second round against Adrian Mannarino. The Scot has reached the quarter-finals or better in his last 18 Grand Slam appearances, including four in a row at the US Open. It’s a place Anderson has yet to be in his 8+ years on tour. The Winston-Salem champion is 0-7 lifetime in fourth-round matches at the majors, most recently squandering a two-set lead against eventual champion Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon earlier this summer. Anderson, who lost to Murray in the fourth round at Wimbledon last year, is playing in the fourth round here for the first time. Murray has a 5-1 career head-to-head advantage.
Later on Armstrong, Berdych and Gasquet meet in a rubber match after splitting their first 12 meetings on tour. The sixth-seeded Berdych has had the upper hand of late, sweeping six straight sets against the 12th-seeded Gasquet over the last 11 months. Of their 12 match-ups, 11 have been decided in straight sets, including their only prior meeting at a Grand Slam, won by Berdych at the 2011 Australian Open.
Looking ahead to the first two quarter-finals on Tuesday, No. 9 seed and reigning US Open champion Marin Cilic takes on No. 19 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who is making his first US Open quarter-final showing since 2011. Cilic has won four of the previous five tour meetings. Tsonga has held in all 56 of his service games at the tournament, saving the only two break points he’s faced against Sergiy Stakhovsky in the third round. Also returning to Ashe on Tuesday is World No. 1 and 2011 champion Novak Djokovic or No. 23 Roberto Bautista Agut against No. 18 seed Feliciano Lopez, who is appearing in his first US Open quarter-finals. Djokovic is 5-0 against Lopez, and Bautista Agut lost his only previous meeting against his countryman.
( Courtesy of the ATP and Original Link – http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/federer-takes-on-isner-at-us-open-day-8-preview )
Topics: 2015 US Open, Atp World Tour, John Isner, Roger Federer, Tennis News
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