After a sluggish start and visits from the trainer, Aryna Sabalenka recovered to defeat St. Petersburg’s Danielle Collins, the No. 19 seed, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, and advance to the U.S. Open quarterfinals.
Collins was defeated by Aryna Sabalenka at the U.S. Open for the third time as she continued to rule her at Flushing Meadows (2018 and 2021). When she required a medical timeout in the second set, she was up 4-3.
Throughout the match’s breaks, Sabalenka had a trainer massage her left thigh. In her on-court interview, Sabalenka, a semifinalist at the 2021 Open, stated she was alright.
Sabalenka voiced her complaints about the loud fans inside Arthur Ashe Stadium to the chair umpire.
Since the U.S. Open main draw began last Monday, a record 549,657 spectators have attended. Through the first eight days of the tournament, attendance is at an all-time high. The prior high was 540,333, which was achieved in 2019.
Even in the middle of the second set, Aryna Sabalenka switched out her racket, which she described as being “very loose.” She wasn’t too bothered by it. The 38 winners she had.
Due to the Russian and Belarusian players’ exclusion due to the invasion of Ukraine, Sabalenka, a player from Belarus, was not permitted to compete at Wimbledon this year.
She will take on No. 24 seed Karolina Pliskova, who defeated No. 26 seed Victoria Azarenka 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2 to get to the quarterfinals.
Men’s player Frances Tiafoe achieved the biggest victory of his career when the 22nd-ranked American defeated Rafael Nadal, the second-seeded player, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, to go to the quarterfinals.
After shaking hands with Nadal, Tiafoe sobbed on the court while burying his head in his hands. As Nadal went away and waved to the audience, he sat on the bench and covered his head with a towel.
Tiafoe remarked, “I felt like the world stopped. “For a minute, I couldn’t hear anything.”
Since Andy Roddick accomplished so at the age of 24 in 2006, Christian Tiafoe, 24, is the youngest American to advance to the quarterfinals. After No. 1 Daniil Medvedev lost on Sunday, Rafael Nadal, a four-time U.S. Open champion, was the highest-seeded player left.
