We have arrived at the quarterfinals of the final slam of the year. The 2023 US Open has brought terrific tennis to the world over the past nine days, and looks to continue to excite as we enter the championship rounds of the tournament. Day 10 features the final two women’s and two men’s quarterfinal matches. On the women’s side, we will see No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka square off against Qinwen Zheng as well as Madison Keys taking on 2023 Wimbledon Champion Marketa Vondrousova. Contributing to these group roundtable predictions are Jack Edward, Yesh Ginsburg, Damian Kust, and Jordan Reynolds.
US Open Day 10 Women’s Predictions
Madison Keys vs Marketa Vondrousova
Jack:
Like Peyton Stearns before her, Madison Keys will absolutely have a chance against Marketa Vondrousova. Great power is required to knock the wily Czech off her stride from the baseline. Keys is as powerful as they get.
It is likely the pair will be scheduled to play in the night session given Keys is the only American playing on this day—I’d posit that’s advantage Keys. The heat would have added to the weight of Vondrousova’s lefty spins making her more adept on defence. Keys will have the power to hit the Wimbledon champion off the court in spite of the potentially cooler conditions.
Prediction: Keys in 3
Yesh:
Madison Keys looked amazing in her last match. She played the best anyone has seen from her in years, and dominated one of the best players in the world. Vondrousova has been better than many expected in backing up her Wimbledon title (though I have no idea why so many pundits were down on her), but she hasn’t looked nearly as dominant as Keys has.
Prediction: Keys in 3
Damian:
The sterile indoor conditions on Monday were a bit of a blessing for Keys against Jessica Pegula. She did well to capitalize, but at the same time, the opponent got flustered with all the pace coming at her early and was never close to recovering with very negative body language. Can she keep it going? The possibility can’t be excluded with Vondrousova carrying an elbow issue and Keys having a very high peak level in the first place. Should be a fun contrast of styles with the Czech trying to make her uncomfortable with the lefty spin like she did against Peyton Stearns.
Prediction: Keys in 3
Jordan:
Vondrousova does possess a game well suited to disarming power, as she showed in the last two sets against Peyton Stearns. But Keys will be a bigger challenge if she gets close to reaching the level of her match with Pegula. We have seen Keys fall a few times at this stage since her run to the final at Flushing Meadows in 2017. But I think this time she will live up to her potential, and manage to overpower the crafty Vondrousova. The crowd will help her too.
Prediction: Keys in 2
Aryna Sabalenka vs Qinwen Zheng
Jack:
Qinwen Zheng has finally done it. This is her breakout moment on the biggest stage the sport has to offer—a Grand Slam quarterfinalist for the first time. A breakout moment for sure, but in truth, none of her opponents posed a real threat. Even Ons Jabeur was consistently overpowered from the baseline.
Aryna Sabalenka will be able to live with the Chinese from the baseline and, more importantly, will be able to capitalize on any lapses in serve. Zheng will probably go on to be a star of the sport, but there remain holes in her game that the new world #1 will be able to exploit.
Prediction: Sabalenka in 2
Yesh:
I can’t give Zheng too much credit for reaching this round. Jabeur has looked off all tournament. Meanwhile, Sabalenka is crushing the ball with ruthless consistency. It won’t surprise me if this is a blowout.
Prediction: Sabalenka in 2
Damian:
Is this the breakthrough moment for Zheng? Even if I think she’s the real deal, I’m not so sure. Jabeur was far from her best level in the fourth round, although it’s certainly great for the Chinese youngster to get to this stage of a Slam for the first time. Sabalenka sounds like a tough matchup for her though. Zheng must serve at much better percentages to avoid getting crushed on her second delivery. The overwhelming power of the Belarusian is a bit of a natural counter to her aggressive early timing.
Prediction: Sabalenka in 2
Jordan:
Zheng’s win on paper against Jabeur was superb, but the Tunisian was far below the level she is capable of, and looked to be struggling with an injury. Although Zheng has had a wonderful breakthrough tournament, she needs to play the match of her life in this one. Sabalenka will be the new number #1 when the rankings are released after the US Open and has been dominant in all her matches so far. Zheng has to hope her own aggressive game can extract enough errors from the Australian Open champion. But I doubt that will happen.
Prediction: Sabalenka in 2
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke – USA TODAY Sports
