Key events
Auger-Aliassime holds to 15, looking pretty good while doing it. He’s into the match and looks good and businesslike. And for extra points, he’s got Daffy Duck on his shirt.
Daffy Duck, what a legend. I can’t say I don’t enjoy Buggs’ smarm and smartarsery, I do, but ultimately Daffy is my boy.
And off we go.
And out they come.
Both our players are engaged, soon to be married. Mazal tov, boys.
I guess we might look at Felix and say yeah, but Zverev hasn’t been the same since his Aussie Open final undressing, just as Rublev is on the way down too. And we’d be right to: perspective is important. However he’s taken both apart and is talking like someone who’s ready; who knows his time is now.
Oh Demon! Ohhhh maaaaaate!
Someone chuck that man a lifebelt, he’s drowning.
I really like that Sky have, finally, started giving us proper analysis; Ryan Harrison is a terrific addition to the team. Currently, he’s showing us Anisimova’s footwork off the return, a little hop to the left opening both sides of the court. She was superb in outclassing Bia Haddad Maia last round and I really fancy her to make if difficult for Swiatek on hard, and really respect the way she’s come back after Wimbledon when she might’ve felt sorry for herself after folding so publicly. If she plays close to her best today, I think she wins … but Swiatek has the skill to ensure she doesn’t.
I strongly fancy Felix in our first match, on the basis that if he plays well, he’ll have too much for De Minaur, who has a higher bottom level but a lower top level. It’s a form thing really – Auger-Aliassime has played three great matches in a row and is in the nock of his life. He’ll be made to play a lot of balls, but has the ability to explode with winners, which the Demon does not.
Preamble
Yes yes ya’ll and welcome to the US Open 2025 – day 11!
Some years ago now, a tennis coach mate messaged me excitedly, telling me he’d seen the future: a kid with power and grace who moved more beautifully than anyone he’d seen before. Amazingly, so good was he at 16 that the only relevant comparators were Boris Becker and Rafael Nadal.
That kid was Felix Auger-Aliassime and, it’s fair to say, he hasn’t quite progressed as expected. Of course he had weaknesses back then, most particularly his second serve, his return and his volleying, but even when granted the gift of a Covid hiatus to get them sorted, they stayed pretty much the same as they always were.
Now, at 25, the sense is that he is what he is: a bloody good player who’ll never be grand slam champion – whatever his natural gifts insist he’s capable of. And yet, and yet, and yet. In the last two rounds, he’s accounted for Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev for the loss of just one set, playing close to as well as he can, and in Alex de Minaur finds an eminently beatable last-eight opponent, able to scurry and retrieve as well as anyone on tour, but lacking the weapons to dominate. For both men, this is a moment, a major quarter-final against the other the kind chance that may never come round again.
Following them on to court is a redemption battle of epic proportions. When Iga Swiatek and Amanda Anisimova met in the Wimbledon final, the result was a historic 6-0 6-0 humiliation that will haunt the American until the day she does and perhaps beyond. She fought for years, making all the usual sacrifices sportsfolk do, was brave enough to take a mental health break, then returned, realised a dream, and stood powerless as it was mercilessly devastated in front of the world.
On a hard court, though, she’ll fancy her chances of hitting at the top of the bounce, her casual power enough to disquiet anyone – even Swiatek who, though she’s rediscovered herself in recent months, is not far removed from a major downturn in form and confidence. The Wimbledon champ is the favourite, but Anisimova has everything required to get after her in what should be an absolutely banging contest.
Play: 11.30am local, 4.30pm BST
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