Quarterfinals on the docket tonight, all times ET:
8:30pm: (22) Bautista Agut v (14) Tsitsipas (T is up 2 sets to 1)
11:45pm: Pavlyuchenkova v unknown american Danielle Collins*
3:00am: (8) Petra Kvitova v (15) Ashleigh Barty, hometown heroine
5:00am: (2) Nadal v Tiafoe
* I read about and watch as much women's tennis as anyone on this site, probably, and I have never heard of Collins. She's the one who absolutely spanked 2-seed Angie Kerber, 6-0 6-2 the other day - and what unseeded player bagels a previous champ and 3-time slam winner? She's ranked 35 (1 ahead of Venus!), having shot up there from 100+ in the last year, which was her first full year on tour. She's played 24 events in the last year, which is a lot, but looking at her logs she has hardly won a main-draw match above the International level (sorta the AAA tour). Had a decent run to the semis in San Jose (2nd-tier WTA event), and - oh, wait, OK there it is, she's the one who ran to the semis of Miami, knocking off Venus Williams in the quarters in straight sets last year. OK, yeah, now I got her. +840 ranking points for that one, that'll keep you out of a lot of quallies.
Anyway, this tournament, she's knocked off #14 Julia Gorges, #19 Caroline Garcia, plus Kerber, and now has a very winnable match to go to a semi. She had to qualify for Sydney and then lost in the first round of the main draw, but in the first round of Brisbane she faced and lost to Kvitova (now a likely semifinal opponent) but gave her quite a match, 6-7(6), 7-6(6), 6-3. And now here she stands, one of the least heralded slam quarterfinalists in recent memory.
Oh yeah, and Ash Barty gets the full Federer rooting treatment, it's like Konta at Wimbledon. Not too many chances to see a tennis crowd go apeshit rooting for one of their own - maybe Miami for Serena and Venus - so it's a fun atmosphere. I wish I could stay up for that one. As it is, I'll be up with the baby for the second set of Nadal-Tiafoe, so if you're around @jon abbey we can gamethread it.
8:30pm: (22) Bautista Agut v (14) Tsitsipas (T is up 2 sets to 1)
11:45pm: Pavlyuchenkova v unknown american Danielle Collins*
3:00am: (8) Petra Kvitova v (15) Ashleigh Barty, hometown heroine
5:00am: (2) Nadal v Tiafoe
* I read about and watch as much women's tennis as anyone on this site, probably, and I have never heard of Collins. She's the one who absolutely spanked 2-seed Angie Kerber, 6-0 6-2 the other day - and what unseeded player bagels a previous champ and 3-time slam winner? She's ranked 35 (1 ahead of Venus!), having shot up there from 100+ in the last year, which was her first full year on tour. She's played 24 events in the last year, which is a lot, but looking at her logs she has hardly won a main-draw match above the International level (sorta the AAA tour). Had a decent run to the semis in San Jose (2nd-tier WTA event), and - oh, wait, OK there it is, she's the one who ran to the semis of Miami, knocking off Venus Williams in the quarters in straight sets last year. OK, yeah, now I got her. +840 ranking points for that one, that'll keep you out of a lot of quallies.
Anyway, this tournament, she's knocked off #14 Julia Gorges, #19 Caroline Garcia, plus Kerber, and now has a very winnable match to go to a semi. She had to qualify for Sydney and then lost in the first round of the main draw, but in the first round of Brisbane she faced and lost to Kvitova (now a likely semifinal opponent) but gave her quite a match, 6-7(6), 7-6(6), 6-3. And now here she stands, one of the least heralded slam quarterfinalists in recent memory.
Oh yeah, and Ash Barty gets the full Federer rooting treatment, it's like Konta at Wimbledon. Not too many chances to see a tennis crowd go apeshit rooting for one of their own - maybe Miami for Serena and Venus - so it's a fun atmosphere. I wish I could stay up for that one. As it is, I'll be up with the baby for the second set of Nadal-Tiafoe, so if you're around @jon abbey we can gamethread it.