NEW YORK, Sept 6 (Reuters) – The U.S. Open’s round of 16 continues with a day of blockbuster matches on Monday as former champion Coco Gauff takes on fellow American Iva Jovic, while a resurgent Naomi Osaka faces a trial by fire against second seed Elena Rybakina.
Iga Swiatek braces for a clash with China’s Zheng Qinwen, who beat the Polish six-time Grand Slam winner in the semi-finals of the Paris Olympics, while French Open champion Alexander Zverev will also be in action.
TOP WOMEN’S MATCH: IVA JOVIC V COCO GAUFF
Gauff’s attempts to win a second U.S. Open title have ended in the fourth round in each of the last two years. This time, however, the 22-year-old is riding high on an improved serve and has gone through her first three matches without dropping a set.
“I hit flow state,” Gauff said about her third-round win over Cristina Bucsa, in which the two-time Grand Slam winner fought back from a break down to win the second set.
She had pulled off a similar comeback against Jovic in May, when Gauff lost the first set but managed to edge the second before dominating the third. Gauff said challenging matches and the possibility of defeat kept her on her toes.
“At the end of the day, anybody can lose… it makes me have my guard up all the time, which makes me play better,” she said.
TOP MEN’S MATCH: ALEXANDER ZVEREV V LUCIANO DARDERI
Top seed Zverev survived two five-set wars before getting a straight-sets win over Alejandro Tabilo in the third round. But it was still not smooth sailing, as the German had to edge Tabilo in a nervy second-set tiebreak.
“I think it was definitely an improvement to two days ago. Of course, the draw is not going to get easier… so I’m expecting tough matches, but I think, I hope my form is also improving,” Zverev said.
But the tests are only getting tougher for the former finalist, and Monday’s opponent Luciano Darderi saved four match points to beat him in their previous meeting in May in Rome.
“Everything is possible,” Italy’s Darderi said after his win over Zverev.
ZHENG GEARS UP FOR SWIATEK BATTLE
Zheng was on the verge of losing in the third round, with Madison Keys up 5-0 in the third set. But Zheng fought back from the brink, saved a match point and won seven games straight to complete one of the tournament’s best comebacks.
The 23-year-old, who won gold at the Paris Olympics, has struggled to regain her best form following a persistent elbow injury and surgery in July 2025. The win over Keys was a strong indication that she was close to recapturing her best form.
“After the surgery it was not easy… I’ve been through really tough (moments) these last three, four, five months. The hard work finally paid off a bit,” said Zheng.
Swiatek has won seven of their previous eight meetings, but it was Zheng who knocked out the four-time French Open champion at the Paris Olympics on Swiatek’s favourite clay surface.
Swiatek looked shaky as Marie Bouzkova forced two tiebreaks during their third-round clash and Zheng has an opportunity to pull off another upset over the eighth seed.
U.S. OPEN ORDER OF PLAY ON MONDAY (prefix number denotes seeding):
ARTHUR ASHE STADIUM (1530 GMT/1130 ET)
8-Iga Swiatek (Poland) v Zheng Qinwen (China)
24-Francisco Cerundolo (Argentina) v 28-Alexander Blockx (Belgium)
14-Iva Jovic (U.S.) v 4-Coco Gauff (U.S.)
1-Alexander Zverev (Germany) v 21-Luciano Darderi (Italy)
LOUIS ARMSTRONG STADIUM (1500 GMT/1100 ET)
5-Mirra Andreeva (Russia) v 24-Anastasia Potapova (Austria)
13-Naomi Osaka (Japan) v 2-Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan)
Karen Khachanov (Russia) v 14-Learner Tien (U.S.)
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in BengaluruEditing by Toby Davis)
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