US Open Tennis 2015: Predicting Score, Results for Wednesday's Brackets
The remaining spots in the men's and women's singles semifinals will be on the line Wednesday at the U.S. Open with top stars and past Grand Slam winners such as Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Victoria Azarenka and Petra Kvitova vying for them.
Tuesday saw the likes Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic triumph in hard-fought matches. The favored players figure to get strong pushes from game opponents, but they'll look to avoid the upset fate already suffered by top contenders in Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and Caroline Wozniacki.
There has been no shortage of compelling tennis played in New York City to this point, and Wednesday's slate is likely to feature some of the best matches yet.
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With only the cream of the crop remaining in the men's and women's fields, here is a look at all of Wednesday's top matches along with predictions for how each will play out.
Predicting Wednesday's Matches
| Women's Quarterfinals | 11 a.m. | (5) Petra Kvitova | (26) Flavia Pennetta | 6-4, 6-2 (Kvitova) |
| Women's Quarterfinals | 1 p.m. | (20) Victoria Azarenka | (2) Simona Halep | 7-6, 6-3 (Azarenka) |
| Men's Quarterfinals | 3 p.m. | (5) Stan Wawrinka | (15) Kevin Anderson | 6-4, 6-7, 7-6, 6-2 (Anderson) |
| Men's Quarterfinals | 8 p.m. | (12) Richard Gasquet | (2) Roger Federer | 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 (Federer) |
Breaking Down Top Matches
(12) Richard Gasquet vs. (2) Roger Federer
Federer is arguably better positioned to win his 18th career Grand Slam title than he has been in quite some time, but he must get past an in-form Richard Gasquet in order to take another step toward his ultimate goal.
Fed has looked like the best player in the tournament thus far, as he has yet to drop a set. He will face a player in the quarterfinals he is 14-2 against and has never lost to on a surface other than clay.
With that said, the French underdog has a penchant for succeeding when he gets to this point in major championships, according to Matt Zemek of Attacking the Net:
The 12th-seeded Gasquet is 3-0 in Grand Slam quarterfinal matches, and Federer believes the 29-year-old veteran is playing some of the best tennis of his career currently, per ATPWorldTour.com:
"I'm not sure if I've seen Gasquet play as well as he is right now. ... Now he's backing it up. I'm sure he gained confidence from Wimbledon. That's why I expect it to be tougher than maybe in previous years against him or previous times. I feel like this could be one of the tougher Gasquets I've played in previous years, so I expect it to be difficult.
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Gasquet is certainly on a great run, as he has beaten quality opponents such as Bernard Tomic and Tomas Berdych, but Federer is at a different level when it comes to experience in high-pressure situations.
The clash between Federer and Gasquet will be the featured match of the night, and as evidenced by this tweet courtesy of ESPN Stats & Info, that favors the Swiss superstar significantly:
Federer and Djokovic have been on a collision course for the final ever since Fed defeated Djoker in the Cincinnati Masters final a couple weeks ago.
Gasquet could provide some issues for Federer due to his fitness and his matching one-handed backhand, but based on the fact that Fed is locked in and eyeing his sixth career U.S. Open title, he'll find a way to push through to the semis in straight sets.
(20) Victoria Azarenka vs. (2) Simona Halep
In perhaps the most compelling women's match of the tournament to this point aside from Serena Williams versus Venus Williams, Azarenka will take on second-seeded Simona Halep Wednesday afternoon with a semifinal berth up for grabs.
The seeding may say that Halep is the favorite, but Vika is a two-time Australian Open champion and two-time U.S. Open finalist who is still attempting to get back to her top-five ranking after working her way back from injury.
Azarenka is a perfect 2-0 against Halep in her career, but they haven't played in three years. Halep is a much different player now, as the Romanian has become one of the most consistent players on tour.
Halep has incredible movement and is a great counterpuncher, but Azarenka is arguably the most powerful women's player in the world aside from Serena. In addition to that, as pointed out by Halep, the Belarus national has a never-say-die attitude, per WTA Insider:
While Azarenka has shown her mettle throughout the tournament, especially in her three-set win over Angelique Kerber, Halep has done the same.
She was clearly battling through injuries during her fourth-round match against Sabine Lisicki, but she found a way to outlast her in three sets.
Unfortunately for Halep, being compromised by injury in any way against a player of Azarenka's caliber is a recipe for disaster. Because of that and Vika's pure power, the Belarusian will prevail and advance to the semis.
(5) Stan Wawrinka vs. (15) Kevin Anderson
Kevin Anderson has been a player on the verge of breaking out for the past few years, and he finally scored the signature win of his career in the fourth round, as he ousted third-seeded Andy Murray.
The road doesn't get much easier for the big South African in the quarters, as he must now clash with No. 5 Stan Wawrinka, who is the reigning French Open champion and a two-time Grand Slam winner overall.
While some are still reluctant to place the Swiss star in the same company as Federer, Djokovic, Murray and Nadal, the proof is in the pudding. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Wawrinka has consistently been a force at Grand Slam events in recent years:
Wawrinka holds a big experience edge over Anderson when it comes to significant matches, but Anderson may be the better player right now due largely to the fact that his massive serve plays so well on the U.S. Open hard court.
Also, while Wawrinka once dominated Anderson, the tables have been turned in recent meetings, per Chris Skelton of Tennis View Mag:
Anderson has always been a big server, but he is starting to put the rest of his game together as well in terms of ground strokes and defense. That was on full display against Murray, and it will serve him well against Wawrinka, too.
Many have counted out Wawrinka at times despite his ascent, and he has proved the naysayers wrong on multiple occasions. The stage is set for Anderson to take another big leap forward, though, and he'll do so by knocking off another top player Wednesday.
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