US Open Doubles Preview: Mirza-Hingis in action, Paes to play Bopanna in mixed doubles on Day 10
The US Open has continued to dazzle everyone as it builds up towards the final few days of the tournament. With most quarterfinal matches getting over on Day 9, the semi-finals are slated to start from today onwards with the likes of Sania Mirza, Leaner Paes and Rohan Bopanna all representing the Indian contingent at Flushing Meadows.
Some of the important results from Day 9 include wins for Mirza-Hingis and Errani-Pennetta in the women’s doubles, Herbert-Mahut and Murray-Peers in the men’s doubles, and Hlavackova-Kubot and Sands-Querrey in the mixed doubles events.
Here are all the doubles fixtures from Day 10 of play at the US Open:
Martina Hingis/Sania Mirza (1) vs Sara Errani/Flavia Pennetta (11)
Top seeds and overwhelming favourites Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza will take on Sara Errani and Flavia Pennetta in the semi-finals of women’s doubles event in the US Open.
The Indo-Swiss pair have been crushing their opponents in straight sets since the beginning of the tournament, beating the likes of Christian-Santamaria, Chuang-Bacsinszky, and Krajicek-Strycova en route to their quarterfinal match-up with Yung-Jan Chan and Hao-Ching Chan from Taipei. They were too strong for their ninth seeds opponents as well, winning 7-5 6-1 after losing the first five games of the match to continue their charge towards a second consecutive Grand Slam.
Their Italian opponents, on the other hand, have stumbled into the quarters after overcoming 15th seeds Lara Arruabarrena from Spain and Slovakia’s Andreja Klepac in three sets 6-0 5-7 6-2. The duo hasn’t exactly set the world alight with their performances so far, but will definitely be looking to build on their consistency in a bid to grab their first major title.
This will be the first time the two pairs face each other in a competitive tennis match.
Prediction: Hingis and Mirza to reach the final with yet another straight sets victory
Anna-Lena Groenefeld/Coco Vandeweghe vs Caroline Garcia/Katarina Srebotnik (5)
Fifth seeds Caroline Garcia and Katarina Srebotnik will need to be at their best if they want to beat the German-America pair of Anna-Lena Groenfeld and Coco Vandeweghe in the quarterfinal clash between the two at Flushing Meadows.
The two struggled to reach the heights commanded by their seeding in their round 3 match against Kiki Bertens and Johanna Larsson, scraping past them in three sets after breezing through their opening two rounds against Chan-Jurak and Flipkens-Rob Robson.
Unseeded Groenefeld and Vandeweghe, however, look to be in brilliant form ahead of this match-up courtesy a straight-sets 6-2 6-4 over the more fancied seventh seed pairing of Hlavackova-Hradecka. The duo haven’t dropped a set so far, which is sure to give them plenty of confidence to knock another seeded pairing out of the tournament.
The last match between the two doubles teams came about in the second round of the Wimbledon grand slam in London, with Groenfeld-Vandeweghe beating their opponents 7-6 6-3.
Prediction: Recent form and the head to head record gives Groenfeld and Vandeweghe the edge in this one.
Alla Kudryavtseva/Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (12) vs Casey Dellacqua/Yaroslava Shvedova (4)
Alla Kudryavtseva and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova face Casey Dellacqua and Yaroslava Shvedova in the women’s doubles quarterfinals on Day 10 of the US Open.
The fourth-seeded pairing of Aussie Dellacqua and Kazakhstan's Shvedova qualified for the quarterfinals after a tough match against Serbians Jelena Jankovic and Aleksandra Krunic, dropping the first set before recovering well to win 2-6 7-5 7-5.
Kudryavtseva and Pavlyuchenkova, the 12th seeded Russian pair, also endured a blip in their Round 3 match against 17th ranked Italians Knapp-Vinci as they dropped the second set on the way to a 7-6 2-6 6-2 win.
No head to head record exists for this match-up, making it the first time the two have ever played each other in a doubles match.
Prediction: Casey Dellacqua and Yaroslava to show play better than they did before and take this one in three sets.
Dominic Inglot/Robert Lindstedt vs Rohan Bopanna/Florin Mergea (6)
Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea will resume their quest to win the US Open when they play Dominic Inglot and Robert Lindstedt in the men’s doubles quarterfinals.
The 35-year-old Indian and his Romanian partner have only dropped one set so far, with that coming in their 6-7 6-4 6-3 victory over ninth seeds Daniel Nestor and Edouard Roger-Vesselin in Round 3.
Their British-Swedish opponents have only been getting stronger as the tournament progresses, seeing off the experienced duo of Robert Stepanek and Tommy Haas in a straight-sets 6-4 6-3 win.
This will be the first meeting between the doubles pairs.
Prediction: Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea to win this match, although it could turn out to be a three-setter.
Steve Johnson/Sam Querrey vs Leonardo Mayer/Joao Sousa
Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey will play Leonardo Mayer and Jao Sousa in the other men’s doubles quarterfinal match to take place on Day 10.
The American pair have had a stunning US Open so far, beginning with their first round defeat of fellow countrymen Mike Bryan and Bob Bryan and following it up with a 7-5 4-6 6-3 win over the formidable Leander Paes and Fernando Verdasco. They qualified for the quarters after seeing off Michael Russell and Donald Young in straight sets.
Argentine Leonardo Mayer and Portugal’s Joao Sousa were unseeded ahead of this tournament, so it was surprising to see them knock out the 11th seeded Canadian-American pair of Vasek Pospisil and Jack Sock with a 4-6 7-6 7-5 win in their round 1 clash. Their subsequent round 2 match was an easy straight-sets win over Argentines Federico Delbonis and Diego Schwartzman, although their third round match saw them struggle as they beat Fleming-Huey in three sets 6-4 3-6 6-3.
The two doubles teams have never played against each other before this match.
Prediction: Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey to progress through to the semis.
Martina Hingis/Leander Paes (4) vs Yung-Jan Chan/Rohan Bopanna (2)
Martina Hingis will play two matches on Day 10 of the US Open when she competes in the mixed doubles semifinal. The 34-year-old will be partnered by doubles specialist and Indian legend Leander Paes as the two take on the pairing of Yung-Jan Chan and Paes’ former doubles partner Rohan Bopanna, who is also competing in the men’s doubles.
The reigning Wimbledon champions won their opening round match against American pair Claire Liu and Taylor Fritz in straight-sets but have gone on to have an uneventful tournament since then. They are in the semi-finals courtesy two walkovers they received after Bouchard-Kyrgios and Halep-Tecau pulled out from their respective clashes.
On the other hand, Yung-Jan and Rohan Bopanna have been in the thick of things. The second seeds won their opener by disposing off unseeded Swiss-Spanish pair Belinda Bencic and Fernando Verdasco but needed to really hold onto their nerves to win their second and quarterfinal fixtures against Kudryavtseva-Peya and Hsieh-Kontinen.
This will be the first meeting between the only top seeds left in the tournament.
Prediction: Hingis and Paes to win this in a three-setter despite being seeded lower than their opponents.
Andrea Hlavackova/Lukasz Kubot vs Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Sam Querrey
The Czech-Polish duo of Andrea Hlavackova and Lukasz Kubot will hoping to reach the finals of the mixed doubles event of the US Open when they come up against Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sam Querrey from the United States of America.
Their opening round fixture against number one seeds Sania Mirza and Bruno Soares ended in a stunning straight-sets victory for them. They went on to knock out Townsend-Young with a 3-6 6-4 [10]-[6] victory and qualified for the semis with a 6-4 6-4 win over Rodionova and Mirnyi.
Mattek-Sands and Sam Querrey had also registered a shock win earlier in the tournament when they beat the third-seeded Czech-Polish pairing of Lucie Hradecka and Marcin Matkowski. Their second round match against Gavrilova-Peers ended in a 6-1 7-5 win, although they did find it a little difficult to get past sixth seeds Yaroslava Shvedova and Juan Sebastian Cabal in the quarterfinals.
The lack of a head to head record makes this clash the first time the two have ever faced each other.
Prediction: A seriously tough match to call, but expect Andrea Hlavackova and Lukasz Kubot to win this one.