US Open: No alarm for Iga Swiatek, Daniil Medvedev as former champions cruise into last 8
But defending champion Swiatek will now face in-form American Jessica Pegula, while 2021 champion Medvedev will face top seed Jannik Sinner
Iga Swiatek and Daniil Medvedev, the last two former champions left in the US Open singles draws after a series of upsets, swept into the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows with a minimum of fuss on Monday.
Top seed Swiatek, who won the title two years ago, showcased her all-court game in a straightforward 6-4, 6-1 win over Russian Liudmila Samsonova to open the evening session at Arthur Ashe Stadium and warned she was only going to improve.
“At the beginning, it wasn’t easy to get the rhythm, especially because we kind of put our focus more on recovery than actually practising before the slam,” Swiatek said of her week in New York.
“So I’m happy that I got some matches here and for sure, I’m feeling better and better every day.”
Medvedev, the 2021 champion, had earlier brushed aside a delay caused by a fire alarm in the building where the Hawkeye line-calling system is housed to pummel Portugal’s Nuno Borge 6-0, 6-1, 6-3.
“It was a strange experience but it did help me because I felt like he had started to get the momentum and this broke it a little bit,” Medvedev said.
