{"id":132248,"date":"2025-09-04T12:50:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T12:50:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/132248\/"},"modified":"2025-09-04T12:50:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T12:50:11","slug":"u-s-open-quarterfinal-recap-naomi-osaka-and-karolina-muchova-light-up-arthur-ashe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/132248\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Open quarterfinal recap: Naomi Osaka and Karol\u00edna Muchov\u00e1 light up Arthur Ashe"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Athletic<\/a> has live coverage of the 2025 U.S. Open<\/a>, and you can follow all the U.S. Open coverage<\/a> too.<\/p>\n

Welcome to the U.S. Open<\/a> briefing, where The Athletic\u00a0will explain the stories behind the stories on each day of the tournament.<\/p>\n

On Day 11, the tournament got its purest tennis match<\/p>\n

Two stars light up the biggest stadium in the sport<\/p>\n

Naomi Osaka\u2019s quarterfinal against Karol\u00edna Muchov\u00e1<\/a> was the latest exclamation point for Osaka\u2019s long and short journey back to the biggest matches on the brightest stages. It began nearly two years ago, but went from 35mph to 90 only in the past month.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like a video game. You pick it up, and even if you lose a level, you kind of just restart and keep going until you eventually win. I think it\u2019s a little tough at some times, but I wouldn\u2019t trade it for the world,\u201d she said in her news conference.<\/p>\n

Also like a video game was her 6-4, 7-6(3) victory over the master craftswoman of tennis, an encounter which was done in straight sets and less than two hours, but delivered the purest \u2014 or, in Alan Partridge\u2019s words, liquid \u2014 tennis of the U.S. Open to date. The clash of styles teased out the similarities between Osaka and Muchov\u00e1 more than the differences.<\/p>\n

The ebbs and flows, as Muchov\u00e1, after looking out of the match following medical treatment on her left thigh between sets, shifted gears from constructive to destructive and started using the ferocious groundstroke power that usually plays second fiddle to her finesse. And then Osaka, moving out of the corners and floating all around every part of the biggest stadium in the sport, as she had likely never done before.<\/p>\n

She has arrived on court for this tournament, along with new coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, intent on taking charge of points the way she once did, dictating them from just behind the baseline, but with the addition of a new weapon: she can really move. When Osaka was first ascendant, keeping her toes on the hashmark at the baseline was enough. Now, tennis is built for players with straight-up speed and the ability to switch direction like pinballs bouncing off bumpers.<\/p>\n

This match did not draw the biggest crowd roars or standing ovations of the fortnight, but it did bring some of the most consistently brilliant two-way tennis. That Muchov\u00e1 did half of that essentially on one leg only added to its impact.<\/p>\n

\u2014 James Hansen and Matt Futterman<\/p>\n

Arthur Ashe goes high on quality but low on length<\/p>\n

After a run of short, uncompetitive matches on Arthur Ashe Stadium, things started to turn Tuesday night when Taylor Fritz and Novak Djokovic<\/a> played a competitive four-setter that lasted just under three-and-a-half hours.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, play began with a four-set battle won by F\u00e9lix Auger-Aliassime against Alex de Minaur that lasted four hours and 10 minutes. The quality wasn\u2019t always the highest but it was extremely close, with the result in doubt until the final ball.<\/p>\n

The second match between Amanda Anisimova and Iga \u015awi\u0105tek<\/a> was a lot shorter, but more intense and the kind of contest that, although it only lasted 96 minutes, no one left feeling shortchanged. The first set of Osaka against Muchov\u00e1 was extremely high quality, before becoming slightly strange in the second as the latter had to manage a leg injury after a medical timeout. Muchov\u00e1 changed her game and still forced Osaka to a tiebreak. That\u2019s the match of the tournament, remember?<\/p>\n

Three very different matches, and a reminder that quantity doesn\u2019t always equal quality. And that matches can still be competitive and hard-fought, even if in straight sets.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Auger-Aliassime came through a contest of will and nerve management on Arthur Ashe Stadium. (Ishika Samant \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u2014 Charlie Eccleshare<\/p>\n

Last two men\u2019s quarterfinals a study in contrast<\/p>\n

The two phenomenal women\u2019s semifinals were the filling to a men\u2019s quarterfinal sandwich, but the two pieces of bread could not have been more different.<\/p>\n

In the first of the day, two players tipped for majors who never quite made it squared off in pursuit of taking their next step. De Minaur, the 26-year-old Australian, was trying to reach a first major semifinal.\u00a0Auger-Aliassime,\u00a0the 25-year-old Canadian, was trying to reach his second.<\/p>\n

It was Auger-Aliassime who prevailed after four hours and 9 minutes in the sunshine, beating De Minaur 4-6, 7-6(7), 7-5, 7-6(4). The Canadian has been on a heater the past week, powered by his destructive forehand. But for most of the match yesterday, it went AWOL.<\/p>\n

At the same time, de Minaur\u2019s sturdy defense got creakier as the match went on, as he made uncharacteristic unforced errors. Both players agreed that this was a tight match more defined by what was at stake than the opponent in front of them, and Auger-Aliassime eked out the fourth set after de Minaur had taken a 4-1 lead.<\/p>\n

The Canadian will play Jannik Sinner <\/a>after the men\u2019s world No. 1 blasted past compatriot Lorenzo Musetti with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win. Since being a point from going down 0-4 to Denis Shapovalov in the third set of their third-round match, Sinner has been imperious, dropping 13 games in roughly two-and-a-half matches.<\/p>\n

\u2014 James Hansen<\/p>\n

Shot\u00a0of the day<\/p>\n

Alex de Minaur may have lost, but he had time to bring out his flair against F\u00e9lix Auger-Aliassime.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Up next: Women\u2019s semifinals<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe Aryna Sabalenka (1) vs. Jessica Pegula (4)<\/p>\n

7 p.m. ET on ESPN\/ESPN+<\/p>\n

Here they are again, one round earlier. Sabalenka and Pegula met in last year\u2019s U.S. Open final<\/a>, with the world No. 1 beating the home favorite 7-5, 7-5. They both enter this semifinal having come through the draw unscathed, not even dropping a set. For different reasons, they have probably had it easier than they would like in terms of readiness for such a contest. Sabalenka didn\u2019t even play a quarterfinal after Mark\u00e9ta Vondrou\u0161ov\u00e1 withdrew<\/a> from their match, while Pegula is yet to have to find her top level.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe Naomi Osaka (23) vs. Amanda Anisimova (8)<\/p>\n

9 p.m. ET (estimated) on ESPN\/ESPN+<\/p>\n

Anisimova is fresh off avenging her 6-0, 6-0 Wimbledon final defeat<\/a> to Iga \u015awi\u0105tek, playing uninhibited tennis and adding even better movement out of the corners to go with her ballstriking. Osaka is fresh off beating one of the great craftswomen in tennis, Karol\u00edna Muchov\u00e1, who pushed her to a tiebreak even on one leg. Both of them have unfinished business at Grand Slams: Anisimova from just weeks ago and Osaka from four years back. A thrilling match awaits.<\/p>\n

U.S. Open men\u2019s draw 2025U.S. Open women\u2019s draw 2025<\/p>\n

Tell us what you noticed on the 11th day\u2026<\/p>\n

(Top photo of Karol\u00edna Muchov\u00e1 and Naomi Osaka: Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton \/ The Athletic)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Athletic has live coverage of the 2025 U.S. Open, and you can follow all the U.S. Open…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":132249,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[99,428],"class_list":{"0":"post-132248","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-sports","9":"tag-tennis"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132248"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132248\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/132249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}