NEW YORK — Delray Beach resident Coco Gauff plays in the opening match in the U.S. Open quarterfinals Tuesday afternoon, though not against the opponent that was expected.
Jelena Ostapenko, of Latvia, will be on the opposite side of the net after the No. 20 seed knocked out defending champion Iga Swiatek on Sunday night.
The other women's quarterfinal Tuesday is No. 10 Karolina Muchova against No. 30 Sorana Cirstea.
Two women and three men have advanced to the quarterfinals.
“It’s just really exciting tennis for America,” No. 6 Gauff, who defeated Caroline Wozniacki on Sunday, said. “I hope that the fans are excited.”
On the men's side, Frances Tiafoe can book a return to the semifinals with a victory over fellow American Ben Shelton. Another American, Taylor Fritz, would await the winner if he can finally beat No. 2 Novak Djokovic for the first time in his career. He is 0-7 against the 23-time Grand Slam champion.
The Gauff-Ostapenko match opens play on Arthur Ashe Stadium at noon and will be followed by Fritz against Djokovic. The night session begins at 7 p.m. with the second women's quarterfinal matchup, before Tiafoe and Shelton play the nightcap.
On Monday in Aryna Sabalenka's first match since being assured of rising to the top of women's tennis, the Belarusian showed off the power-based game that allows her to dominate so many opponents, overwhelming No. 13 seed Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-3 in Arthur Ashe Stadium to advance to her fifth consecutive major quarterfinal.
On Wednesday, she will play No. 23 Zheng Qinwen, who defeated Ons ZJabeur, , who lost to Swiatek in last year's U.S. Open final, 6-2, 6-4.
No. 3 Jessica Pegula was eliminated with a 6-1, 6-3 loss to No. 17 Madison Keys, the 2017 runner-up from the United States. No. 9 Marketa Vondrousova, who beat Jabeur in the Wimbledon final, beat unseeded American Peyton Stearns 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-2.
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the quarterfinals for the third time in his three trips to the U.S. Open, beating unseeded Italian Matteo Arnaldi 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. No. 8 seed Andrey Rublev also is in the quarterfinals for the fourth time at Flushing Meadows, but the women's tournament had more upsets.
