Fourth Round Marks The End For U.S. Singles Players In U.S. Open, While Doubles Teams Play On

Jessica Pegula during the women's Singles third round match on Day Six of the 2021 US Open on September 04, 2021 in Queens, New York.  

Tokyo Olympian Frances Tiafoe was one of four American singles players to reach the fourth round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, though all four fell short of reaching the quarterfinals. 

Meanwhile, an all-U.S. team remains in each of the doubles contests, as do three Americans playing with partners from other countries.

With Serena Williams and Sofia Kenin among several top players out of this year’s tournament, both fields are seen as wide open.

Tiafoe, a 23-year-old from Boynton Beach, Florida, battled through the first three rounds, upsetting fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev of Russia in the third, but finally met his match Sunday against Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, the 12 seed, in the fourth. The result matched Tiafoe’s best finish in a Grand Slam and comes just weeks after he made his Olympic debut in Tokyo, competing in both doubles and singles.

Reilly Opelka and wildcard Jenson Brooksby also reached the fourth round on the men’s side, with No. 22 Opelka falling to South Africa’s Lloyd Harris and Brooksby going out to top-seeded Novak Djokovic or Serbia.

On the women’s side, Shelby Rogers cruised through her first two wins before meeting top seeded Ashleigh Barty of Australia in the third. After winning the first set and then dropping the second, Rogers held on to win the third set in a tiebreaker to complete the upset.

“In the second and third, she definitely raised her level, as she does,” Rogers said. “I mean, she’s the No. 1 player in the world for a reason. But I started wanting to hit the ball a little bit harder, find some winners if I could. That’s the tennis I like to play.”

Her run came to an end Monday in the fourth round, however, with a loss to 18-year-old Emma Raducanu of Great Britain.

The American hopes of winning at U.S. Open title come down to doubles.

Wildcards Steve Johnson, a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, and 2008 Olympian Sam Querrey are in the men’s doubles quarterfinals, as is two-time Olympian Rajeev Ram, a 2016 silver medalist, and British Partner Joe Salisbury. Should both win their next match tomorrow they’d meet in the semifinals.

On the women’s side, Coco Gauff and Caty McNally, the 11 seeds, are alive in the quarterfinals. So is Caroline Dolehide and Australian partner Storm Sanders, seeded 10th, and seventh seeded Desirae Krawczyk and Alexa Guarachi of Chile.

In mixed doubles, Tokyo Olympians Jessica Pegula and Austin Krajicek are one win away from a berth in the semifinals, where they could meet No. 2 seed Krawczyk and Salisbury.