1) Can Schiavone derail Venus Williams?
When No. 3 seed Venus Williams and No. 6 seed Francesca Schiavone meet up in the U.S. Open quarterfinals, someone will be losing their first set of the tournament. Venus struggled a little early in her last match against Shahar Peer, needing a tie breaker to win the first set. But then she settled down to eventually win the match, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3. Schiavone, who earlier in the tournament did her best Roger Federer impersonation with a spectacular shot between her legs, breezed past Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6-3, 6-0. This is Schiavone's first trip to the U.S. Open quarterfinals since 2003, while Venus has missed the quarterfinals just twice in 12 trips to Flushing Meadows.
2) Nadal's quest for first U.S. Open continues
No. 1 seed Rafael Nadal's march towards his first ever U.S. Open continues into the fourth round where he will face fellow countryman, No. 23 seed Feliciano Lopez. Lopez needed five sets to advance past Benoit Paire in the second round, but he had an easy go of it in the third round when his opponent, Sergiy Stakhovsky retired in the second set. The short match could serve him well in his match up against the No. 1 seed. Nadal, meanwhile, has yet to drop a set in his first three wins. After making the semifinals the last two years, a loss here would be devastating for Nadal. With Andy Murray now eliminated, the highest seed remaining from Nadal's side of the draw is No. 8 Fernando Verdasco.
3) Querrey looks to give fans something to cheer for
Sam Querrey will look to keep America's presence in the U.S. Open going strong when he takes on No. 25 seed Stanislas Wawrinka. The native of Switzerland is coming off his huge upset win over No. 4 seed Andy Murray. He pulled off the shocker in four sets, 6-7 (7-3), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 6-3. This will be Wawrinka's third trip to the fourth round at Flushing Meadows, but he'll have to deal with a crowd which should be extremely pro-Querrey. The American ousted Nicolas Almagro in his last match in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. Can Querrey continue to please the fans at the U.S. Open?
4) Wimbledon champ looks to keep winning at U.S. Open
Many thought a resurgent Ana Ivanovic was going to give No. 2 seed Kim Clijsters a run for her money, but the defending champ breezed through the match, winning 6-2, 6-1. Clijsters has dropped just 14 games in the tournament, thus far, but she'll face her biggest test yet when she takes the court against No. 5 seed Samantha Stosur. While Clijsters breezed through her fourth round match, Stosur endured a grueling battle against Elena Dementieva. She eventually won in a final set tie breaker, winning the match 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7-2). Will Stosur have enough left in the tank to pull off the upset against Clijsters?
5) Who will potentially be Nadal's next opponent?
If Rafael Nadal can get Feliciano Lopez, the winner of the (10) David Ferrer vs. (8) Fernando Verdasco match will be his next opponent. Verdasco is coming off a hard-fought win over David Nalbandian, winning 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. Ferrer, meanwhile, has cruised to three straight sets matches in a row to reach the fourth round. Which Spaniard could end up being Nadal's next opponent?
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Querrey carries U.S. hopes into fourth roundFofana open to offers
