A summary of Wednesday's action at the US Open on Day 3.
Garbine Muguruza was once again left to sift through the remains of another failed US Open campaign after the third-seeded Spaniard suffered a shock 7-5 6-4 second round upset by unheralded Latvian Anastasija Sevastova on Wednesday.
Ana Konjuh was not a year old when Serena Williams played her first US Open match but both will be in the Arthur Ashe Stadium spotlight on Wednesday, with four gripping quarter-finals to take centre stage at the year's final Grand Slam.
Venus Williams moved within two wins of a possible sisterly showdown with Serena in the semi-finals of the US Open by beating German 26th seed Laura Siegemund to reach the fourth round on Saturday.
Serena Williams crushed older sister Venus 6-1, 6-2 in a shockingly subdued third round clash at the US Open on Friday to stay on track for a record equalling 24th Grand Slam title.
Defending champion Naomi Osaka of Japan was upset 7-5, 6-4 by Belinda Bencic in the fourth round at the US Open on Monday as the Swiss reached the quarter-finals for the second time.
'I know earlier in the tournament I said something in kind of a bad way and now I'm saying it in a good way: That it's because of your energy that I'm in the final'
With Roger Federer and 2018 champion Novak Djokovic having already made exits, Nadal's path to a fourth US Open trophy has been cleared of familiar hurdles.
'I really like the way he plays, mixes in the slice, the dropshot, volleys really well. There's so many things I like from his game. Hopefully I can keep working on those and become just like him'
A golden moment for Australian Ashleigh Barty and American CoCo Vandeweghe was tinged with disappointment when tournament officials did not let them speak to the crowd after winning the U.S. Open women's doubles final on Sunday.
More shocking than his departure was the manner of the 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7), 7-6,(3) loss to the Australian, with Federer simply wilting in the suffocating humidity and exiting a Grand Slam before the quarter-finals for just the fifth time since 2004.
Spinner Nathan Lyon believes Australia have enough time to chase the 412 victory target and win the first Ashes Test against England at Cardiff
Big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic fired 19 aces to topple Sam Querrey 6-4, 6-4 and set up a second-round clash with either Dan Evans or Russian 10th seed Andrey Rublev.
Roger Federer handed Nick Kyrgios a 6-4 6-1 7-5 tennis masterclass by storming into the fourth round of the U.S. Open on Saturday with a ruthless display that left the Australian talking to himself and waving the white flag.
'It's always going to be ... in the years to come, 'oh, you know that guy won a US Open in 2020 without fans'. I don't think it's going to have that weight... It wouldn't be the best scenario.'
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.
Serena Williams will be wary of another semi-final slip-up when she takes to the Arthur Ashe Stadium court on Thursday to face 10th seed Karolina Pliskova for a spot in the US Open final.
Serena Williams stormed into the US Open quarter-finals in record-smashing style on Monday by easing past Kazakhstan's Yaroslava Shvedova 6-2, 6-3 to claim her record 308th Grand Slam match win.
Images from Day 10 of the 2021 US Open in New York on Thursday.
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.
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'
IMAGES from Day 2 of the US Open played at Flushing Meadows in New York on Tuesday.
Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza notched up her first ever victory on Arthur Ashe Stadium with a 6-0, 6-3 win over American Varvara Lepchenko at the US Open on Monday.
It was his first victory ever against a player ranked in the top two and it avenged the semi-final loss at the Rio Olympics where Murray went on to win gold and Nishikori settled for bronze.
Andy Murray made another of his trademark stirring fightbacks as the third-seeded Scot powered past Frenchman Adrian Mannarino after dropping the first two sets of their second round encounter at a sweltering US Open in New York, on Thursday.
World No 1 Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 to win the US Open title at the Flushing Meadows in New York on Sunday.
The 19-year-old's triumph, which came in her US Open main draw debut and against the undisputed queen of the sport, was the latest step in a meteoric rise for Andreescu and it dominated front pages across the country.
The 19-year-old Canadian, who a year ago had failed to qualify for the tournament but has gone on to become the sport's brightest young star.
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.
Rafael Nadal, who said his injured wrist is improving daily, beat Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 in his first-round match on Monday's opening day of the year's last Grand Slam.
The upset left only three of the top 10 seeds still alive in the year's final Grand Slam - number one Serena Williams, who is seeking the fourth women's calendar-year Grand Slam, second seed Simona Halep and fifth seed Petra Kvitova.
Venus Williams's renaissance year continued on Tuesday when she downed Petra Kvitova 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(2) in an electrifying atmosphere to set up an all-American US Open semi-final against Sloane Stephens.
A summary of Wednesday's action at the US Open.
Serena Williams retained her US Open crown by holding off a battling Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 7-5, 6-7(6), 6-1 in a windblown final at the Arthur Ashe stadium on Sunday.
'I definitely think it's the time to just switch off from any future thoughts or any plans, any schedule. I've got absolutely no clue. Right now, no care in the world, I'm just loving life.'
Flavia Pennetta crushed Romanian second seed Simona Halep 6-1, 6-3 to kick off a packed day of action at the U.S. Open on Friday with a stunning upset that put the Italian into her first Grand Slam final.
Lleyton Hewitt waved goodbye to the US Open on Thursday, the tenacious Australian dragged kicking and screaming to the Flushing Meadows exit by countryman Bernard Tomic.
There was not an ounce of bitterness as Osaka accepted the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup from Asia's first Grand Slam champion Li Na