Key events
Again, Andreeva struggles on serve, but at 30-all, Potapova thwacks a return long. Again, though, when a second delivery arrives, she assaults it, a deep return facilitating a clean-up forehand, muscled inside-out from the backhand corner; deuce. But though Andreeva doesn’t convert her first advantage, she immediately earns another, sealing the hold with a service winner to level the set at 2-2.
Ridicuolous athleticism from Andreeva, sliding into net to make a volley, has Potapova applauding at 0-15. But she certainly isn’t at 15-30, when a net cord leaves her one to dispatch, only for her to unload the suitcase at a ball not requiring violence, overhitting by a long way to donate two break-back points. And Andreeva only needs one; Potapova leads 2-1 in the first.
And Potapova holds to 30. She’s never been beyond round four of a major – she’s fallen at that stage twice in Paris – and will know the extent of her task today. As if to underline the point, Andreeva opens with an ace, but a forehand winner makes 15-all and we wind up at 30s. Just watching this game, I think Potapova fancies tucking into her opponent’s second serve; she attacks one, then unleashes a murderous inside-out backhand, followed by a fore to the same corner – in the process raising break point. And, though she accidentally sends over a moon ball, Andreeva swipes her attempted winner wide and trails 0-2.
My predictions during this competition have been an absolute nonsense, and I fancied Anisimova to win the women’s event, but misguided or not, to beat her on a hard court requires a proper standard, and Potapova did it in straights. She’s serving first on Armstrong…
I can’t lie, part of me wondered if Andreeva would ever win a slam. Not because I doubted her talent, but because I feared that at some point in every major, she’d be out-hit by an opponent with a bigger but not necessarily better game. In the event, though, her preternatural grasp of the game is worth more than a few mph, the question no longer how but how many.
Preamble
Word up and welcome to the US Open 2026 – day nine!
We begin on Armstrong with Mirra Andreeva, now a grand slam champion so spieling with house money … except not spieling with house money at all because she’s a killer with the potential to win multiple. She won’t, though, find things easy against Anastasia Potapova, who binned Coco Gauff in Paris and Amanda Anisimova in the last round here. If her high-risk, high-reward style is as grooved now as then, we’re in for a treat.
Opening up on Ashe, half an hour later, we’ve Iga Swiatek, winner in 2022. Yet to lose a set in the competition, she might’ve just found her mislaid mojo, but Qinwen Zheng will be full of confidence having come back from 0-5 down in the third set to get rid of Madison Keys.
Our likeliest match of the day comes in the second wave of singles contests, with Naomi Osaka, twice a winner of this competition, meeting the Aussie Open champ and potential world no 1, Elena Rybakina. It’s been a while since Osaka threatened to add to her four majors, but her ability is such that, at some point, she’ll surely go deep and, even if she doesn’t, remains more than capable of beating anyone at any time.
As for the men’s competition, I can’t wait to see how Alexander Blockx, the 21-year-old Belgian, gets on in the biggest match of his career so far. He dealt harshly with Flavio Cobolli in round three, coming from a set down to power home 3, 0 and 3, and will view Francisco Cerundolo as a very beatable opponent.
Then, later in the day, Arthur Gea – also 21 – who first caught our attention by beating Jiri Lehecka in Melbourne, meets Botic van der Zandschulp, whose giant serve has already helped him sort two seeds in Zizou Bergs and Alex de Minaur. That one’s on Grandstand while, on Armstrong, Karen Khachanov, powerful but lacking hands and agility, faces his inverse, Learner Tien, lacking power but with touch and speed. It is not at all easy to pick winners, but luckily we don’t have to – we can simply immerse and enjoy.
Let’s go!
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2026/sep/07/us-open-tennis-2026-swiatek-v-zheng-osaka-v-rybakina-and-more-on-day-nine-live
About the Author
