In the battle of young Americans, [4] Coco Gauff got the better of [14] Iva Jovic once again. When you play against Gauff, you have to get on top and keep your foot on the pedal because she will find the smallest opportunity to get back in the match and win. Jovic just did not do that and she lost 1-6, 4-6. The American duo of Robin Montgomery and Ashlyn Krueger continue their winning ways. They defeated the team of T. Maria/Z. Sonmez 6-3, 6-2.

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Coco Gauff Battles Mirra Andreeva Next

Do not be deceived by the dominance of Coco Gauff in there H2H (5:0). Mirra Andreeva’s game has been improving, and she has the confidence of being a major champion as well. Thus, there will be a battle between these two for a spot in the semifinals of the last major tournament of the 2026 season. I am going Gauff all the way, but I think she will have to play at her best to secure the victory.

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Qinwen Zheng Does It Again From 0-5 Down

Qinwen Zheng, a former top ten player, had to get through the qualifying rounds to make the main draw of the US Open. She was ranked as high as number four, until injury derailed her trajectory. Zheng had elbow surgery in July 2025, which she is now coming back from. She is also the 2024 Olympic gold medalist in singles. Her current ranking of one hundred and twenty one in no way reflects her talent. Thus, I do not call this an upset.

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At her healthiest, the Chinese player was only able to defeat Swiatek once in eight tries. That I find interesting. This win was huge for her confidence and her career ranking in the near future. Consider this for a moment, a champion like [8] Iga Swiatek who could not close out the first set despite leading 5-0 says more about Swiatek’s current form than Zheng’s ability, as impressive as it was. That was also the case with Madison Keys, who lost the match because she also could not win the third set leading 5-0. Kudos to Zheng who won 7-5, 6-3. Two players will be left asking questions after their recent encounter with Qinwen Zheng.

Learner Tien Amongst Fallen Day Nine Seeds

[1] Alexander Zverev seems to be rounding into form. He won the first two sets easily 6-2, 6-2. However, he stumbled in the third and was pushed to a tiebreaker by [21] Luciano Darderi. I think Zverev did not want another five setter, so he made sure to win the tiebreak set 7-6(3). American [14] Learner Tien will have nightmares after squandering a two sets to one lead and a potentially excellent opportunity at the US Open to go deeper in the draw. Sometimes a match is turned on something simple and perhaps the match turned in the first set. Karen Khachanov is turning back the clock and playing some brilliant tennis. He won 7-5, 4-6, 6-7(6), 6-1, 6-4.

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[2] Elena Rybakina defeated [13] Naomi Osaka 6-1, 6-4. [24] Francisco Cerundolo could not pull off another five set victory. He ran into a much more determined opponent in [28] Alexander Blockx. Despite some pain, the Belgian player was determined to secure the victory. Blockx won 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5. It was a battle!

An Unhappy Ending For Potapova

You never want to win because your opponent got injured and that is exactly what happened late in the match between [5] Mirra Andreeva and [24] Anastasia Potapova. The Austrian won the first set 7-5 and really disrupted the rhythm of her young opponent. Andreeva was clearly frustrated, but she found enough of her game to even the match. The third set could have been different. Potapova looked to be struggling physically and then moving for a ball on the baseline she jammed her knee. After an assessment, there was a medical time out. Frankly, she should have just called it quits, but she came back out to serve and was broken a second time in the third set to lose the match. Andreeva won 5-7, 7-4, 6-3.

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