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Djokovic into 47th Slam semi-final
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0-9 likely for Rublev in quarter-finals
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Alcaraz strong favourite over Zverev
Shelton shocks Tiafoe as Djokovic eases through
Ben Shelton was the main talking point on Tuesday in New York in the men's event, with the American getting past countryman Frances Tiafoe in four sets.
The turning point was set three, at one set all and Tiafoe spurning both a break lead towards the end of the set, and a set point on serve in the tiebreak. Professional tennis matches often revolve around such key moments.
This wasn't quite the case for Novak Djokovic, though, who eased past Taylor Fritz in straight sets for the loss of just nine games, with Fritz's second serve (highlighted yesterday as a major problem for him in previous matches with Djokovic) again a big issue - Djokovic won 29 of 40 points when Fritz failed to land his first serve.
Djokovic now leads their career series 8-0, and that's a run that doesn't look like changing much in the near future. The tournament favourite is now into his record-breaking 47th career Grand Slam semi-final.
Rublev needs to crack Medvedev's serve
Moving on to today's action, another run is worth mentioning - Andrey Rublev in Grand Slam quarter-finals. He's 0-8 in these, including several losses as a pre-match favourite, and two (both on hard court) against his opponent here, Daniil Medvedev, both in straight sets.
Such a record has the potential to hang over a player and the mental aspect of it cannot be underestimated. Opponent Medvedev is a 1.434/9 favourite to extend Rublev's run to 0-9, and that price looks pretty accurate when looking at hard court data this year, which gives Medvedev a sizable edge on return points won percentage.
In recent head-to-head matches, Medvedev's serve has been tough to break for Rublev - he's won under 30% of return points and broken Medvedev around 10% of the time, so unless that changes today, 0-9 looks pretty likely.
Alcaraz should be far less fatigued than Zverev
Following this, the later match on the Wednesday schedule is Carlos Alcaraz versus Alexander Zverev, with the Spaniard winning easily last time they met, on quick clay in Madrid. That day, Alcaraz was priced at around 1.251/4, and he's a similar line today as well at 1.232/9.
I think a key point worth raising here is Zverev's additional court time so far in the tournament. He's played 859 minutes of tennis, while Alcaraz has played 521 - around six and a half hours less than the German. A five-setter for Zverev ahead of facing Alcaraz isn't exactly a positive either.
Several recent wins apart, Zverev's record against top 10 opposition (post-injury) has been pretty poor, and as mentioned, I think he needs to find a higher gear to trouble the very best. I'm extremely sceptical that will happen today, and Alcaraz should find a way to get the job done and move to the semi-finals.