Serena Williams has defeated her compatriot in four straight matches since a defeat in the quarter-finals of the 2013 Australian Open.
Former world number one Maria Sharapova avenged her US Open loss to Anastasija Sevastova with a 7-6(3), 5-7, 7-6(7) victory over the Latvian in the China Open first round on Saturday.
'This has been an emotional week and I want to thank everyone for the outpouring of support.'
IMAGES from Day 8 of the matches played at the US Open at Flushing Meadows on Monday
Chasing a sixth US Open title, Federer needed just one hour and 46 minutes under a closed roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium to put away the 31st seed Lopez, leaving plenty in the tank after being forced to go the distance in his opening two matches.
Petra Kvitova takes on Naomi Osaka in Saturday's Australian Open final with one of them set to emerge as a fresh champion at Melbourne Park.
"Specifically, with Bouchard we are comfortable with our decision of putting her on Ashe, there are a lot of matches to schedule today, things could have gone many different ways," USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier told Reuters.
Britain's world number two Andy Murray pulled out of the US Open on Saturday, citing a hip injury.
American great John McEnroe expects Roger Federer's sensational comeback season to continue in New York when the US Open kicks off on Monday.
Having let three match points slide in the fourth set against Roger Federer on Centre Court, Marin Cilic may be forgiven for wanting to rewind the video and replay the key moments again. His Swiss conqueror snatched a pulsating fourth-set tiebreak 11-9 before winning 6-7(4) 4-6 6-3 7-6(9) 6-3 to reach his 11th Wimbledon semi-final and keep up the tilt for an eighth title.
Former world number one Andy Murray is in line to play Grigor Dimitrov in the opening round of the inaugural ATP Cup, with Bulgaria qualifying among the final six teams in the nation-based tournament.
A summary of Thursday's play at the US Open.
Juan Martin del Potro could barely believe he had finally won a Masters 1000 series title at the 51st attempt at Indian Wells on Sunday but is determined to keep the trophies coming in his late career renaissance.
One year after shaking off a crippling foot injury to claim a stunning US Open victory, Sloane Stephens said her follow-up season felt just as good as the American prepares to play in next week's WTA Finals for the first time.
The 27-year-old Romanian beat Sloane Stephens at Roland Garros to win her maiden Grand Slam title in June and will have spent 40 weeks at the top of the rankings by the end of the season.
Huge upsets lit up the basketball World Cup on Wednesday as France beat hosts Spain 65-52 while Serbia thumped Brazil 84-56 to set up an intriguing semi-final clash.
'For me, I don't feel sad because I wouldn't even know what I'm expected to feel'
'I've accomplished a lot this past year and I feel I can do even more, now I actually believe I can do more after all of this success so I am going to keep striving and hopefully win many more Grand Slams. I have been thinking about playing the Olympics for a couple of years, I think it is a very special event'
Novak Djokovic heads into his US Open final clash with Juan Martin del Potro on Sunday knowing he faces a challenge - a very big challenge indeed.
'Almost three hours. It's midnight now. Credit to John for putting up a great battle'
'He's done a lot for the African American community, and it's cost him a lot. It's sad' 'To be compared to Ali or Jordan, I really have no words'
A clash of generations will decide the US Open on Saturday with Serena Williams taking a fourth crack at Grand Slam history against teenager Bianca Andreescu, who was not even born when the American lifted her first Flushing Meadows trophy.
The final will pit power against power when Andreescu takes on her childhood hero Williams, who claimed her first US Open title in 1999 before Andreescu was even born.
After a flawless first set from Mertens the tide turned in Andreescu's direction in the second when she fired a cross-court forehand winner to break the Belgian at love and take a 4-2 lead.
World No 1 Serena Williams swept past good friend Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 6-3 in the US Open final on Sunday to move up in the record books with her 18th grand slam title.
Fiery Australian Nick Kyrgios mostly kept his cool en route to a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 dismantling of Antoine Hoang in their second round clash at the US Open on Thursday. The 28th seed had a row with the umpire even before the match started but avoided a full scale meltdown to reach the third round at Flushing Meadows for the fourth time.
Serena, a six-times champion in New York who is seeded 17th, will start her campaign against Polish world number 60 Magda Linette and could face Venus in the third round before a possible fourth-round showdown with Romanian top seed Halep.
Australia's Nick Kyrgios could find himself in hot water again after accusing men's tennis governing body ATP of being "corrupt" following his US Open first round victory.
Eugenie Bouchard was hailed as the new face of women's tennis just 12 months ago but the Canadian's downward spiral continued on Tuesday with a humbling 6-0, 5-7, 6-2 loss to Swiss Belinda Bencic in the opening round of the Rogers Cup.
Images from Day 2 of the 2020 US Open in New York
'I wake up today and say to myself, 'Today is the day that I'll play'. I need to play with the right energy, and I need to increase the level of my game'
A look at the form and records of the four men's semi-finalists at the US Open.
Roger Federer blamed troubled preparations for his US Open quarter-final exit on Wednesday, saying he had spent most of the time leading up to the year's final Grand Slam worrying about his back instead of focusing on training.
The 37-year-old has enjoyed a renaissance season that has seen her reach the Australian Open and Wimbledon finals and sit just one victory away, against American compatriot Sloane Stephens, from playing for the US Open title for the first time since 2002.
The charismatic 18-year-old Canadian has infatuated the New York crowds with his skill and on court panache that has made him the youngest man to make it into the fourth round of the US Open since American Michael Chang in 1989.
Roger Federer's struggles in 2013 are unlikely to hasten his exit from the game and the Swiss master could hit back and win next year's Australian Open, according to tennis great Rod Laver.
Rafael Nadal is likely to end the year without a grand slam singles title for the first time since his debut French Open crown in 2005 following his shock Wimbledon exit on Thursday, his uncle and coach Toni has conceded.
'If Federer were to win the Open, if he's not the athlete of the year on every kind of major publication it will be the greatest injustice I've ever seen for tennis'
The US Open reached an emotional climax on Sunday as the year's final grand slam paused amid heavy security before the start of the men's singles to remember those who died in the 9/11 attacks 15 years ago.
Karolina Pliskova suffered a narrow US Open defeat at the hands of Angelique Kerber on Saturday, but the Czech 10th seed also proved her mettle as one of the most dangerous attacking players in women's tennis.