From dawn to noon on September 9 (Vietnam time), US Open 2026 witnessed dramatic battles for tickets to the semi-finals.
Opening the quarter-finals is the women's singles match between Aryna Sabalenka and Linda Noskova. On Arthur Ashe court, Sabalenka may have thought everything was gradually slipping out of her hands, both the US Open championship and the No. 1 position in the world women's tennis rankings.
However, the No. 1 seed proves that she will not give up when she does not fight her best.
Sabalenka nurtured hopes of winning her third consecutive US Open title after defeating Noskova 7-6 (1), 3-6, 7-6 (10-7).
A really tough match. She is an excellent player and I really can't speak, because I tried my best in this match, especially set 3," Sabalenka shared.
Honestly, I thought everything was over. And perhaps that thought helped me... I felt more comfortable and just confidently launched my shots.
Sabalenka faced the earliest risk of elimination at the US Open since the defeat in the second round in 2020, when Noskova broke in the third set and took a 4-2-leading lead. But in the end, the Belarusian player avoided her first defeat at the US Open since losing to Coco Gauff in the final in 2023.
Sabalenka closed the match with a direct serve win in her second serve, thereby defeating the Wimbledon champion and winning a place in the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows for the sixth consecutive year.
Sabalenka will lose the world No. 1 position – after 99 consecutive weeks – if Elena Rybakina defeats Zheng Qinwen. If Rybakina fails, Sabalenka will continue to reignite the No. 1 position if she wins the championship in New York.
The second women's singles quarter-final between the two US hosts, Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro, also took 3 sets to determine the winner. No. 3 seed Pegula came back to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
In the men's singles, the opening match is the American derby between Frances Tiafoe and Alex Michelsen.
Not seeded like Michelsen who played excellently against 11th seed and came very close to the semi-finals after leading 2 sets 7-5, 6-3. He even led 5-4 in set 3, but the experience factor at the important moment was not enough for the 22-year-old player.
Tiafoe breaks serve and wins 7 consecutive games to finish set 3 with a score of 7-5 and leads 3-0 in set 4 where he wins 6-3, equalizing the score 2-2.
In set 5, Michelsen led 3-0, but once again lost the advantage, letting his 28-year-old senior equalize, before ending in a tie-break of 10 touches.
Too regretful, Michelsen burst into tears right on the field after the match and Tiafoe actively put aside his celebration to comfort his junior.
Seeded No. 11 will face the winner in the match between Ben Shelton and Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals.
The match between Pegula and Navarro ended late after 2 hours and 22 minutes, so Shelton and Alcaraz could only play and start the match at 10 am on September 9 (Vietnam time).
