Iga Swiatek believes she is growing into the US Open and improving with each day that passes after storming into the quarter-finals by beating Liudmila Samsonova.
Five-time grand slam winner Swiatek is hunting her second title at Flushing Meadows, and she will face home favourite Jessica Pegula in the last eight after overcoming Samsonova 6-4 6-1.
She needed just over an hour and a half to see off the 16th seed on Monday in what represented her 100th main-draw match at grand slams.
Among those to begin their careers in the Open Era, only six female players have bettered Swiatek's total of 83 victories through their first 100 major outings.
Monica Seles managed 93 wins, putting her ahead of Chris Evert (90), Steffi Graf (87), Martina Hingis, Serena Williams (both 86) and Venus Williams (85).
Swiatek is also one of just four players in the last two decades to win 12 straight grand slam matches versus WTA top-20 opponents, alongside Graf, Seles and Serena Williams.
She still believes there is more to come, though, as she approaches Tuesday's headline tussle with sixth seed Pegula.
"At the beginning, I felt like we were playing men's style, just holding our serves but I knew that if I kept pushing I may get some chances to break," Swiatek said.
"That happened and I'm happy I was there to close the first set. Then I just wanted to keep being focused and not let my mind drift off.
"I'm happy with the whole performance. I'm feeling better and better every day."
The victor of Swiatek's meeting with Pegula will face Karolina Muchova or Beatriz Haddad Maia for a place in the final, after the former upset Jasmine Paolini and the latter overcame Caroline Wozniacki.
Haddad Maia's' 6-2 3-6 6-3 win over Wozniacki – who won the 2018 Australian Open – made her just the second South American woman to claim multiple US Open victories over former grand slam winners (two), alongside Argentina's Gabriela Sabatini.
Jamaica to host New Zealand in Davis Cup Group II Playoffs from January 31-February 2
Jamaica will host New Zealand in the Davis Cup World Group II Playoffs from January 31-February 2 next year at the Eric Bell National Tennis Centre in Kingston.
The Jamaicans, who lost to Barbados in the World Group II Playoffs at home in February, have been given a lifeline in the form of an automatic promotion back to the Group II Playoffs.
This is due to a recent restructuring of the Davis Cup competition giving a fourth qualifying spot to the Americas region.
As a result of this, Jamaica, who were the highest ranked team who didn’t get promoted, earned the new slot.
They will now host a New Zealand side led by world number 559 Kiranpal Pannu. Jamaica could be without the services of their top player, Blaise Bicknell, who is currently injured.
Dominant Djokovic breezes past Cobolli in Shanghai
Novak Djokovic's hopes of claiming a 100th tour-level title are still alive after cruising past Flavio Cobolli at the Shanghai Masters.
After being pushed all the way by Alex Michelsen in his opener, the Serb looked much more comfortable as he triumphed 6-1 6-2 in the third round in just 64 minutes.
He got an early break to take control in the first set, racing into a 3-0 lead before Cobolli got on the board, but another three-game winning streak for Djokovic gave him the first set.
The Italian started the second set brighter, going toe to toe as they traded blows in the opening games.
However, Djokovic soon regained control, and though Cobolli managed to save five of the nine break points he faced during the match, he could do little as the 37-year-old won the final five games to progress.
Djokovic will now face Roman Safiullin in the fourth round.
Data Debrief: Cruise control
Since the format's inception in 1990, Djokovic (82.02%, 406-89) has surpassed Rafael Nadal (82.00%, 410-90) for the highest winning percentage of any player at ATP Masters 1000 events - minimum 10 matches.
And he did so in dominant fashion. He struck 11 winners in the first set (19 overall), and won 20 of his 24 first-serve points throughout the game (83%).
Gauff reassured she is moving in 'right direction' after China Open win
Coco Gauff believes she has proven to herself that she is going in the "right direction" after winning the China Open in Beijing.
Gauff triumphed 6-1 6-3 in Sunday's final, beating Karolina Muchova in just 76 minutes to claim her second title of 2024, after winning the Auckland Open in January.
She is also now the first player to win each of her first seven WTA hard-court finals in the Open Era.
However, after winning the Cincinnati Open and her maiden grand slam at the US Open last year, Gauff struggled at the start of the hard court swing this time around.
After an early exit at the Paris Olympics, she only won once across at Toronto and Cincinnati before seeing her US Open title defence ended in the last 16 by Emma Navarro.
"Everybody can do everything in practice," Gauff told WTA Insider. "This time, when the pressure is on the line, I was just trying to force myself to do things I was uncomfortable with.
"So yeah, I think the result is now reassurance that I am in the right direction.
"A lot of times people forget that I'm still in the developmental phase of my career and nothing is going to be great.
"Most of the people doing well are 25 and older in the top 10, maybe with the exception of Iga [Swiatek]. We have a long way to go, and I still have a lot that I need to work on, and I'm proud of myself thus far.
"I didn't have a complete game at 15, and I don't have one right now, but I've been on tour playing every week almost, trying to be better. I'm just super proud of that."
Gauff will be in action next at the Wuhan Open, making her first appearance at the tournament.
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