The 2024 U.S. Open, Day 8: Chopping them down. With Jessica Pegula, Alex de Minaur, Iga Swiatek, and Jannik Sinner .

U.S. Open Day 8: Jessica Pegula carries American hopes for the day, world No. 1s in action

Follow live coverage of day eight at the 2024 US Open

Day eight of the U.S. Open concludes the fourth round, with the last eight players in each singles draw to be decided by the close of play in New York.

World No. 1s Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner play, while Jessica Pegula carries American hopes for the day, and the best match of the day is likely to take place on Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Pegula is very familiar with this stage of a Grand Slam tournament. She’s also very familiar with it being the last match she wins. Pegula is 0-6 in Grand Slam quarterfinals, but she’ll be feeling pretty good about playing Russia’s Shnaider based on their previous meeting in Toronto, a few weeks ago, which Pegula won 6-4, 6-3.

On the surface, at least. Shnaider reliably slammed her backhand into Pegula’s forehand to open up her own inside-in forehand, which she curls into the corner like all the best left-handed tennis players. The American was able to grit out a result as she so often does, coping better with windy conditions in Canada, but Shnaider is one of the most dangerous players in the draw. She won’t be an easy out.

Nuno Borges vs. Daniil Medvedev (5)

Anybody who saves three match points in a third-round match at a Grand Slam, particularly against a player as talented as Jakub Mensik, deserves some flowers. Anybody who beats Alexandre Muller, Benoit Paire, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Luca van Assche, and Matteo Berrettini to win a tennis title deserves them too. Enter Borges — and the fact that the title in question was an ATP Challenger event, the secondary rung of the ATP Tour. That tour has none of the glamour of a Grand Slam, but as that win in Phoenix shows, it has plenty of good players, and winning events there should not be dismissed as an indicator of form. Medvedev, who had to come through Flavio Cobolli in a hectic atmosphere Saturday night, will not be taking any chances.