LEARNING

No.13 seed Belinda Bencic leads the head-to-head against No.23 seed Donna Vekic. Bencic won a brace of meetings in 2014, 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of Birmingham and 7-6(2), 6-2 in New Haven qualifying (one week before the Swiss player made her Grand Slam quarterfinal debut at the US Open) - but Vekic seized her first win in the series 6-4, 6-1 in the third round of Roland Garros this year.

No.15 seed Bianca Andreescu is the 12th woman in the Open Era to reach the US Open quarterfinals on her debut in New York, and the fourth in the last  30 years following Venus Williams in 1997, Agnes Szavay in 2007 and Belinda Bencic in 2014. Of those debutantes, three would win their quarterfinals: Chris Evert, who made the semifinals in 1971, and Pam Shriver and Venus Williams, runners-up at their first goes in 1978 and 1997 respectively.

None of the players remaining in the top half of the draw have reached the US Open semifinals before, and only No.25 seed Elise Mertens has made the last four of any major - at the 2018 Australian Open. The Belgian has conceded just 16 games en route to this stage - the fewest of any quarterfinalist.

Belinda Bencic is a former girls' doubles runner-up at Flushing Meadows, reaching the 2012 final alongside Petra Uberalova and losing to Gabrielle Andrews and Taylor Townsend.

Martina Hingis was the last Swiss female semifinalist at the US Open, having reached the last four of a major for the last time here in 2001 (Getty)

Bianca Andreescu is bidding to become the first Canadian semifinalist at the US Open since Carling Bassett-Seguso in 1984; Belinda Bencic the first Swiss semifinalist since Martina Hingis's final last-four run at a major in 2001; and Elise Mertens the first Belgian semifinalist since Kim Clijsters and Yanina Wickmayer in 2009.

While none of the quarterfinalists in the bottom half of the draw had lifted a trophy yet in 2019, three of those in the top half are titlists this season. Bianca Andreescu, whose win-loss record this year is an astonishing 42-4, is the Indian Wells and Toronto champion, while Belinda Bencic took the Dubai title and Elise Mertens the Doha crown.

A win for Bianca Andreescu would make the 19-year-old the first teenage US Open semifinalist since a 19-year-old Caroline Wozniacki was runner-up in 2009, and the third teenager to reach the last four of a major this season following Roland Garros runner-up Marketa Vondrousova and Roland Garros semifinalist Amanda Anisimova.

Belinda Bencic would seal her return to the Top 10 for the first time since June 2016 with a win today, while victory for Donna Vekic would guarantee a Top 20 debut. Bianca Andreescu could potentially make her Top 10 debut with a semifinal showing, but only provided Serena Williams does not make the final and Vekic does not win the title.

TRENDING

ORDER OF PLAY

For full order of play, visit usopen.org.

READING

Bianca Andreescu has had a phenomenal rise in 2019 - and displayed exactly why in her fourth-round defeat of Taylor Townsend, writes Gerald Marzorati for the New Yorker.

Serena Williams's quarterfinal win over Wang Qiang was the American's 100th career victory at the US Open. Ashley Marshall breaks down that century of wins for usopen.org.

WATCHING