After defeating Julie Niemeier in a less than inspiring showing, Iga Swiatek feels the race for the US Open title is wide open, and any of the women remaining in the quarter-finals can go all the way

In an uncharacteristic opening set from the world number one, Swiatek had her serve broken in the very first game, and conceded another break to drop the frame 6-2.

She fought back in the second as they traded breaks of serve, with only three successful holds from 10 games as Swiatek took it 6-4, before really finding her groove in the third to run away with a 6-0 finish.

It was her 19th 'bagel' set of the season, with only Serena Williams in 2013 (25) posting more 6-0 sets in a single year since 2000.

When asked about that record, Swiatek said she is aware of it, and that she enjoys Twitter memes referring to "Iga Swiatek's Bakery", although she did not wish to discuss any potential records.

Instead, she discussed the work she has been putting in on the hard courts, having never made the US Open quarter-final before this run.

"For sure, hard court is our goal at the beginning of the season, not the end of the season," she said. "Also we're mainly practicing on hard court pre-season. 

"These are the courts that basically are going to show me where my level of tennis is.

"I played too many matches this year to get, like, huge excitement honestly. But for sure today I'm the most excited because the quarter-final is my best result right now. 

"I'm just happy that I did a better job than last year and I'm going to push forward."

Swiatek was complimentary about her next opponent, Jessica Pegula, admitting "she has a game style that suits these courts", but she pointed out how many emerging players are on the tour at the moment and how it may simply come down to who can handle the big moments.

"I guess it's going to show who's going to cope with being in a new situation better," she said.

"But I think it's just exciting for all of us. It also shows that anything can happen, and anybody can win this tournament."

Iga Swiatek survived a major scare as she came from a set and a break down to beat Jule Niemeier and set up a US Open quarter-final with Jessica Pegula.

The world number one looked to be in a real spot of bother against the German ranked 107 places below her, but Niemeier could not maintain her blistering start and Swiatek claimed a 2-6 6-4 6-0 victory.

Swiatek initially looked a shadow of the player who had not lost a set in the first week, with Niemeier's power and unpredictability causing the Pole no end of issues.

Niemeier was immediately a break up and had no problem consolidating before eventually getting another to lead 5-2.

So underwhelming was Swiatek that Niemeier could even afford three double-faults in the final game of the opener as the German impressively took a first-set lead.

After a bathroom break, Swiatek returned with greater purpose but was still lacking ruthlessness; she inexplicably missed a forehand on break point at 1-0 up in the second, and then she stuck a simple volley into the net a few minutes later to find herself a break down.

That was the first of seven breaks in a second set defined by poor serving, but Swiatek was just slightly better than her opponent, with successive breaks giving her the edge in a rollercoaster encounter.

From there, Niemeier barely registered as a threat due to her wastefulness, recording four double-faults and 14 unforced errors to Swiatek's zero and one respectively in the decider as the latter bageled her opponent.

Coco Gauff dispatched Zhang Shuai in straight sets to become the youngest US Open quarter-finalist in 13 years.

The 18-year-old American fan favourite won 7-5 7-5 on Sunday, sealing her place in the last eight.

Gauff's victory makes her the youngest player to have reached the quarters at Flushing Meadows since Melanie Oudin in 2009.

Oudin, another American, was 17 at the time, and lost her last-eight tie to eventual runner-up Caroline Wozniacki.

Caroline Garcia is next up for Gauff, who will face either Ons Jabeur or Ajla Tomljanovic should she overcome the US Open quarter-final debutant.

Australia's Tomljanovic followed up her defeat of Serena Williams with a 7-6 (10-8) 6-1 win over Liudmila Samsonova, snapping the Russian's 13-match winning streak and reaching her second career grand slam quarter-final in the process.

World number five Jabeur, meanwhile, made history by becoming the first North African woman to make the US Open quarter-finals in the Open Era.

She is the third woman from the African continent to do so, with South Africans Maryna Godwin (1968) and Amanda Coetzer (1994, 1996 and 1998) having previously achieved the feat. Jabeur defeated Veronika Kudermetova 7-6 (7-1) 6-4.

Fan favourite Coco Gauff said the reception she has received in New York is different to anything she has experienced before after defeating Zhang Shuai 7-5 7-5 on Sunday.

In a closely contested battle, Gauff was just a little too good, winning 52 per cent (91-of-176) of the total points, while creating 11 break point opportunities compared to nine for Zhang.

It continues a terrific run of form for the 18-year-old, who will break into the top 10 of the world rankings for the first time when it updates this coming week.

Speaking to the media after advancing to the quarter-finals, Gauff compared the atmosphere inside Arthur Ashe Stadium – where she has played every match this tournament – to an NBA game.

"It's way different [to a normal tennis crowd]," she said. "On the 6-5 changeover, people were saying 'let's go, Coco' – I was literally trying not to smile. 

"I was, like, I've got to stay in the zone. Inside I was trying my hardest not to smile. This is a surreal moment for me – on Arthur Ashe Stadium and people are chanting my game. I feel like I'm at an NBA game.

"That's a special thing about tennis. When you go to a football game or an NBA game, people are chanting the team's name. That's great as a player. 

"For you to have the whole crowd chanting your name specifically is something I won't take for granted."

When asked if the incredible attention she has received this week has been a distraction, she said it only helps her in the heat of the contest.

"I think it depends on the player – for me though, I just feed off of it," she said. "I think it helps me more. 

"I mean, for some players, they prefer a more chill, relaxed environment. For me, if anyone has seen me play, I like to get pumped up. The New York crowd seems to like it too."

A meeting with the in-form Caroline Garcia is scheduled for the quarter-final, and she said it is no secret that she is one of the hottest players on tour right now.

"I think she's playing the best tennis she's played in a long time," she said. "It's going to be a challenge. 

"When you play these players that are hot, I think it's more of a mental challenge. You just gotta accept she's going to hit some great shots, because I know she will.

"I think my mentality has been great. I played I feel like two similar opponents, Maddie Keys, who can hit some unbelievable shots from the wings. Same with Shuai today. She was hitting some great shots. 

"I think I was doing a good job of accepting it, clapping my hands, moving on to the next point. I think I'm going to have to do that for the next match."

Gauff and Garcia have played twice before, with the American winning both matches against the Frenchwoman.

Margaret Court does not believe Serena Williams has ever "admired" her and claims the modern game is significantly easier than it was in her own era.

Williams, widely considered one of the greatest sportspeople of all time, stepped away from top-level tennis following defeat to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of the US Open.

Although her time on tour now looks to be over, the 40-year-old admitted "you never know" when asked about future appearances, but a U-turn is widely considered to be highly improbable.

Williams is bowing out with 23 grand slam singles wins – one fewer than record holder Court.

Court, 80, is a Pentecostal church pastor now and has been criticised in recent years for comments about race, homosexuality and the transgender community.

She was blunt when asked about her feelings on Williams, telling the Telegraph: "Serena, I've admired her as a player. But I don't think she has ever admired me."

Court won her grand slam singles titles between 1960 and 1973, and the Australian believes players in the modern era have it much easier than she did during her remarkable career.

"I would love to have played in this era; I think it's so much easier," she said. "How I would love to have taken family or friends along with me. But I couldn't, I had to go on my own or with the national team.

"People don't see all that. As amateurs, we had to play every week, because we didn't have any money. Now, they can take off whenever they want, fly back whenever they want.

"We would be away for 10 months. That's why I first retired in 1965, because I used to get homesick. You might be with the odd other person, but it's not like having your family there.

"We didn't have psychologists or coaches with us. It's a whole different world. That's what disappoints me; that players today don't honour the past of the game."

Margaret Court does not believe Serena Williams has ever "admired" her and claims the modern game is significantly easier than it was in her own era.

Williams, widely considered one of the greatest sportspeople of all time, stepped away from top-level tennis following defeat to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of the US Open.

Although her time on tour now looks to be over, the 40-year-old admitted "you never know" when asked about future appearances, but a U-turn is widely considered to be highly improbable.

Williams is bowing out with 23 grand slam singles wins – one fewer than record holder Court.

Court, 80, is a Pentecostal church pastor now and has been criticised in recent years for comments about race, homosexuality and the transgender community.

She was blunt when asked about her feelings on Williams, telling the Telegraph: "Serena, I've admired her as a player. But I don't think she has ever admired me."

Court won her grand slam singles titles between 1960 and 1973, and the Australian believes players in the modern era have it much easier than she did during her remarkable career.

"I would love to have played in this era; I think it's so much easier," she said. "How I would love to have taken family or friends along with me. But I couldn't, I had to go on my own or with the national team.

"People don't see all that. As amateurs, we had to play every week, because we didn't have any money. Now, they can take off whenever they want, fly back whenever they want.

"We would be away for 10 months. That's why I first retired in 1965, because I used to get homesick. You might be with the odd other person, but it's not like having your family there.

"We didn't have psychologists or coaches with us. It's a whole different world. That's what disappoints me; that players today don't honour the past of the game."

Caroline Garcia has dialled up the aggression and is reaping the rewards as the Frenchwoman emerges as a serious title contender at the US Open.

On Sunday, Garcia moved through to the quarter-finals by beating Alison Riske-Amritraj 6-4 6-1 on Louis Armstrong Stadium.

She has won four matches without dropping a set in the first week of the grand slam in Queens, New York, but that is just the continuation of a sensational hot streak.

Garcia, now 28, has won 30 of her last 34 matches, landing titles in Bad Homburg, Warsaw and Cincinnati along the way.

At the 2011 French Open, ATP superstar Andy Murray was so taken by the 17-year-old Garcia's performance against Maria Sharapova that he predicted: "The girl Sharapova is playing is going to be number one in the world one day."

Perhaps Murray will turn out to be right after all, with that forecast having long hung over Garcia, as well intended as it was at the time.

She reached a peak of number four in 2018 but was down at 79th on the WTA list in late May of this year.

Now she sits 17th and will keep climbing after reaching the last eight at the US Open for the first time.

On a 12-match winning streak at present, Garcia said after sinking the hopes of American Riske-Amritraj: "I'm so excited to be in the quarters of the US Open. It's been a great couple of weeks for me."

She came through qualifying to win the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati, beating Petra Kvitova in that final after felling three seeds along the way.

Recent wins over Iga Swiatek in Poland and Emma Raducanu at Wimbledon, beating home favourites, have showed Garcia is suddenly fearless.

"I'm really trying to play aggressive, go for my shots, even when I'm tight or even when I don't feel it," she said.

"It's how I improved so much in the last couple of months and I really enjoy playing like that, moving forward, and I'm having fun."

Garcia was not at her most fluent in the first set of Sunday's fourth-round match but improved and finished the contest having hit 30 winners.

She has only played one grand slam quarter-final before, losing to Karolina Pliskova at that stage in the 2017 French Open.

Suddenly, though, she is playing top-five standard tennis again, and Garcia will take some stopping.

"I want to enjoy every single win I have," Garcia said in an on-court interview.

"When you don't have them, you miss them, so I want to enjoy this one and recover and get ready for the big match in the quarter.

"I'm really having fun here in the US. I got a lot of confidence from Cincinnati, really enjoy the good energy in New York."

Victoria Azarenka says vulnerable young female tennis players are "getting taken advantage of" as she called for improved safeguarding in the sport.

The Belarusian, who sits on an eight-person WTA players council, was speaking after Frenchwoman Fiona Ferro accused her former coach Pierre Bouteyre of rape and sexual assault.

Bouteyre strongly denied the allegations, with his lawyer telling AFP that he "recognises the relationship occurred but denies any coercion."

Speaking after her US Open victory over Petra Martic, Azarenka called for increased protection and says she would have a "very big concern" if she had a daughter who wanted to play professional tennis.

"It's a very sensitive subject because you won't hear those stories unless players come out and tell those stories," Azarenka said. "It happens right and left on the tour, which is unfortunate.

"Our job is to be better at safeguarding. As player council, it's almost like the number one subject to us. Because we see those vulnerable young ladies getting taken advantage of in different situations.

"It's really sad and really makes me emotional because I have a son [and] I don't see that happening so much on the men's tour.

"If I had a daughter, I would have to question would she want to play tennis, that would be a very big concern in that way for me.

"[The] recent story with Fiona Ferro that came out. I don't know how to put it in words sometimes. All you can do is check in on the person and kind of give your hand what I can do, what I can help with.

"I applaud her for being brave. I hope this situation she's gonna come out of it stronger and tennis is not ruined for her because of that. That's I think [a] very, very heavy topic.

"But it's the topic that has to come out more, and I think it's [journalists'] job also to not expose it. It sounds pretty weird when I say that, but do the research, help people to open up more.

"It's hopefully one by one [as we] try to eliminate that type of situation."

Zhang Shuai went winless in her first 14 appearances at major tournaments but has turned her fortunes around as she prepares for a US Open fourth-round clash with Coco Gauff.

The Chinese tennis player was said to be considering retirement in 2015 after 14 unsuccessful attempts at grand slams, though was convinced to keep fighting by friend and fellow competitor Sam Stosur.

Simona Halep at the 2016 Australian Open was the first scalp Zhang claimed at a major before she went on to reach the quarter-finals.

The 33-year-old, who has two grand slams titles in doubles with Stosur, has not looked back from that win over Halep and has made it to the second week at all four majors in 2022.

"This year, I already have three third rounds," Zhang said after her third-round win at the US Open. "Oh my god, I won six matches! Before I couldn't win one match in many, many years. How happy!

"That's why when we meet some players who want to stop or feels sad after the match, I always tell them next match, see how you are better.

"When I started the tour, how bad [were my] results? No one was worse than me. [These girls are] much better than me, right? You guys are still young. Keep trying."

Gauff awaits Zhang in the round-of-16 as the latter searches for a maiden major success and fourth singles title.

World number one Iga Swiatek says she reminds herself that it is impossible to continually play at the level she achieved during her 37-match winning run earlier this year.

Swiatek reached the second week at the US Open for only the second time after Saturday's 6-3 6-4 win over Lauren Davis and has moved into title favouritism, creating a level of perceived pressure.

That comes amid a run of form where the 2020 and 2022 French Open champion has been far from the levels achieved during her 37-match winning streak which ended in July at the hands of Alize Cornet at Wimbledon.

Since then, Swiatek has only won seven of 10 matches. Swiatek's victory over Davis marked the first time since the winning streak that she has managed three straight victories.

The Pole's hard-court form line has not been compelling either but the exit of Serena Williams along with top seeds Anett Kontaveit, Maria Sakkari, Paula Badosa and Simona Halep has thrust her into US Open favouritism.

But the 21-year-old is trying not to put any extra pressure on herself with that in mind, nor re-discovering the form she displayed earlier in the year.

"Honestly I didn't even focus on that cause I still remember how it is to lose," Swiatek told reporters. "After the tournament in Cincinnati [when she lost to Madison Keys in August], I knew like it's not the end of the world that I'm losing in third round.

"It's not like the whole universe changed so right now I'm always going to be in quarter-finals or finals or whatever, win tournaments. I tried just to remind myself that it's kind of normal, that it's impossible to play always on the same level.

"Here I just took it match by match. I wasn't expecting maybe too much because of the losses, so that's good. It's not like I lost confidence or something. I still know anything can happen on these tournaments."

Swiatek admitted she lacked rhythm against Davis, who had led 4-1 in the second set, before the Pole fought back to win the final five games.

The 21-year-old won 21 of the final 25 points of the match, securing her 53rd victory of the 2022 season, closing in on Ash Barty's 57 from 2019.

"It wasn't as smooth as in first and second round," Swiatek said. "I'm pretty happy I made it through and could close it in second set and come back. That was pretty important for me.

"For sure she played totally differently than most of the players, which threw me a little bit off the rhythm. But I'm happy I was fighting till the end."

Top seed Iga Swiatek reached the US Open fourth round for the second time in her career after reeling off the final five games to beat Lauren Davis on Saturday.

The two-time French Open champion, who enjoyed a 37-match winning streak earlier this year, defeated Davis 6-3 6-4 in one hour and 57 minutes.

Swiatek had trailed 3-0 in the second lap but fought back emphatically to seal her passage into the last 16 where she will face either Jule Niemeier or Zheng Qinwen.

The attention in the women's singles has firmly turned to Swiatek, with Serena Williams eliminated along with the second, third and fourth seeds.

The Pole did not disappoint, hitting 25 winners and six aces, albeit with 38 unforced errors and an apparent lack of rhythm.

Swiatek wrapped up the first set in 59 minutes but world number 105 Davis offered a tougher test in the second after breaking in the second game.

The highly favoured Swiatek had to work out to avoid a 4-0 deficit, holding her serve in a 16-point game, but she showed she was back breaking Davis to love to make it 3-4.

Swiatek won 21 of the last 25 points of the match to book her spot in the second week in New York for the second straight year.

Data Slam: Swiatek finding her hard-court groove

The win improved Swiatek's 2022 tally to 53 matches but it also moved her a step closer to becoming the first player since Serena Williams in 2014 to win seven titles in a single year.

Swiatek has not quite reached the same dizzying levels lately since her 37-match winning streak, which was halted in the third round at Wimbledon, with this victory being only her fifth from eight during the hard-court season.

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Swiatek – 25/38
Davis – 12/34

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Swiatek – 6/3
Davis – 0/6

BREAK POINTS WON

Swiatek – 3/14
Davis – 1/3

Nick Kyrgios believes no other player will be able to emulate the career Serena Williams has enjoyed, after the grand slam great confirmed her retirement.

Williams went down 7-5 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 to Ajla Tomljanovic – Kyrgios' former partner – on Friday in the third round of the US Open.

That brought an end to her playing career, though the 40-year-old suggested she would leave the door open for a potential return.

Kyrgios, who defeated J.J. Wolf to set up a contest with reigning men's champion Daniil Medvedev, is in awe of what Williams has achieved, as he ranked the 23-time grand slam champion alongside Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

"She's had a career that I don’t think no one else will emulate," Kyrgios said.

"You've got a couple on the men’s side who are trying to catch her in grand slams, but Nadal, Serena, Federer, Novak, these are once in a generation athletes – I wouldn't even put myself in the same category, ever.

"It's a special moment for her, she played extremely well, she won two matches and nearly got on top [against Tomljanovic], it's a hell of a way to go out.

"I just appreciate what she's done and I'm sure everyone in this building does as well."

After beating Wu Yibing, world number one Medvedev said of Williams: "That was a crazy match, it was close to being three hours.

"It's definitely a pity that she lost. If it's the last match of her career, it was definitely an amazing match and she was really close to winning.

"Ajla played at a great level, it was not easy against the crowd and it was a high-level match."

Williams bows out with the most grand slam wins in the Open Era of any player, male or female.

Ajla Tomljanovic explained she just had to block out the noise surrounding Serena Williams in order to progress at the US Open.

Williams' called time on her illustrious career following Friday's 7-5 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 loss to Tomljanovic, though did leave the door open to a possible return.

The 40-year-old had announced her impending retirement last month in Vogue, and before each of the three matches she played at Flushing Meadows, the tournament organisers paid tribute to the 23-time grand slam champion.

Williams had the backing of the crowd against Tomljanovic, who knew she had to cut through the background noise and focus on her game.

"I'd say the biggest thing was just to block out all the noise. At the end of the day I tried to keep it simple," she said.

"It's just another tennis match for me. I'm happy to be in the third round and have a great opportunity to play on Arthur Ashe. It's what I dreamed of when I was a kid. Just not make it bigger than it is because everyone else already made it huge.

"From the first moment I walked on court, I didn't really look around much. I was completely in my own little bubble."

Tomljanovic will face Ludmilla Samsonova in the next round and is already putting her win over Williams to one side.

"It's already kind of in the past. I mean, I'm happy I won, I actually think a little too quickly about the next one! I never feel like I have a problem with that. I have more of an issue chilling out and taking it easy the next day," she said.

Williams did not bow out without a fight, saving five match points in the deciding set before finally falling short.

"I stopped counting after the second [match point]," Tomljanovic said. "You know what, every match point she saved, it was all credit to her. I didn't feel like I did much wrong.

"I had this weird calmness because I felt like if I get broken, I mean, so what? Serena broke me. Wow, I'm just like the next person she broke when she's down 5-1.

"I know she comes up with her best tennis when she's in the most trouble. I didn't feel like I'm choking it away or something. I just kept calm and actually took a page of her book."

Ajla Tomljanovic had conflicting emotions after beating Serena Williams, as she admitted she felt like a "villain".

Williams' called time on her illustrious career following Friday's 7-5 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 loss to the Australian, though did leave the door open to a possible return.

The 23-time grand slam champion did not let it go easy, clawing back five match points before Tomljanovic finally clinched the deciding set.

While Tomljanovic is sad to see Williams go, she could not say she was sad to have won, sealing a place for herself in tennis history in the process.

"No one's going to pronounce my name right," she quipped after it was suggested she would now be the answer to a common trivia question regarding Williams' final opponent.

"That's going to suck. I don't think I've of been part of tennis history [before], so that's pretty cool.

"I do feel a little bit like the villain. Like I said in Cincinnati, I really did want to play Serena before she retired. If I was the loser today I'd probably be really sad. I don't want to say I'm sad, but just conflicted.

"Probably the most conflicted I've ever felt after a win. During the match I was so eager to win. I mean, I wanted to win as much as the next person because I didn't look at her like, 'oh, Serena, her last tournament'. 

"But then when it ended, it almost didn't feel right. When she started talking about her family and everything, I got emotional because I can relate to having a strong bond with your family.

"When she said that she wouldn't be there if it wasn't for them, I relate to that a lot. Just the whole moment after was just tough to handle a little bit."

Asked what Williams meant to her, Tomljanovic replied: "Growing up I didn't really have idols, but Serena and Venus [Williams] were just so good that I looked up to them the most, I'd say.

"What always drew me to them was their bond with their family, like the togetherness. They always spoke about that, like it was so important to them. I can relate to that because I'm very close to my family and I wouldn't be where I am without them.

"From a young age I remember seeing them with their dad and thinking that's kind of like my story a little bit. Just the fact that you don't have to have anything other than supportive family, a dream, and just will and passion and love for the game to make it. Not just make it, but what she's achieved is absolutely incredible.

"I don't know if it's ever going to be repeated while I'm still around. I still have years left in me. I want to dream bigger than I have so far because that's what she embodies."

Williams bows out with the most grand slam titles in the Open Era, though one short of Margaret Court's all-time record of 24.

Tributes have poured in across the sporting world for Serena Williams following her apparent US Open swansong on Friday, though the 23-time grand slam winner has kept the door ajar on a shock return.

The American, widely considered one of the greatest sportspeople of all time, suggested she would step away from top-level tennis following the tournament at Flushing Meadows.

Following a 7-5 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 loss to Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round, her journey now looks to be over – though the 40-year-old admittted "you never know" when asked about future appearances.

Her likely last dance, however, has prompted an outpouring of glowing tributes from far and wide, with a host of major names paying their respects to an unparalleld career.

15-time major-winning golfer Tiger Woods called her "the greatest on and off the court" while four-time NBA champion LeBron James hailed her as "so dope".