The quarter-finals of the 2023 US Open get underway today, Tuesday, September 5, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, with Novak Djokovic, Coco Gauff, and Frances Tiafoe all making an appearance.

23-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic will continue his bid for a fourth US Open title as he faces ninth seed and home player Taylor Fritz. The Serb has been largely untroubled for most of the tournament so far, defeating all-but-one of his opponents in straight sets. However, he ran into more difficulty against his compatriot Laslo Djere, who took him to five sets in the third round.

Meanwhile, Fritz is yet to drop a set at Flushing Meadows, although his first set against Dominic Stricker in the Round of 16 went to a tiebreak. He is the only high-ranked player left between Djokovic and the final, meaning that this could be the Big Three member's toughest challenge at the Slam so far.

However, the two players have faced each other seven times before, and Djokovic has won every single time, suggesting that while Fritz is a talented player, he has not been quite at the level to challenge the 36-year-old in the past.

Nevertheless, there's a first time for everything and Fritz has expressed some cautious optimism about the match, saying he is hopeful. He will also have the crowd support firmly behind him as an American playing on home soil, so it should make for an interesting match.

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Gauff to take on Ostapenko after Swiatek defeat

First up on Arthur Ashe will be home favorite Gauff, who will take on twentieth seed Jelena Ostapenko. This comes after the latter pulled off a shock victory against defending US Open champion Iga Swiatek in the Round of 16.

Gauff has defeated some tough opponents so far, ousting rising talent Mirra Andreeva in a second-round battle of the teens before taking on 32nd seed Elise Mertens, who she fought back against to defeat 3-6, 6-3, 6-0. The World No. 6 then emerged victorious against former World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, who was playing her first Grand Slam since coming out of retirement in early August.

The 19-year-old has been on very good form throughout the North American swing, winning both the WTA 500 DC Open and the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open last month, meaning she entered the US Open with the firm support of the home crowd, something which will continue in her match against Ostapenko.

However, the Latvian player will be a tough challenge as she is one of the biggest hitters on the Tour, having scored 31 winners against Swiatek. It is likely that she will continue to play this aggressive style, but Gauff's strong defensive game and the potential for her to frustrate her opponent could give her the edge. It is likely to be close, indicated by the fact that the two players are currently 1:1 in their head-to-head.

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Tiafoe and Shelton to face each other

Closing out the day on Arthur Ashe will be an all-American quarter-final match between tenth seed Tiafoe and rising talent Ben Shelton. This will be the pair's first meeting, so it will be interesting to see how they play against each other.

Tiafoe has been playing well throughout the tournament, having only dropped one set so far. This was in his third-round match against 22nd seed Adrian Mannarino. Meanwhile, Shelton has dropped three across his games with Pedro Cachin, Aslan Karatsev, and fourteenth seed Tommy Paul, but is yet to be taken to five sets at the tournament.

Shelton has also been playing mixed doubles with Taylor Townsend and participated in the first round of the men's doubles with Christopher Eubanks, whereas Tiafoe has been focussing solely on singles which could give him an advantage in terms of energy.

However, Tiafoe will have to be able to defend against Shelton's ultra-powerful serve, demonstrated in his match against Paul when he hit a 149-miles-per-hour ace, the fastest so far at this year's Slam.

On the other hand, Shelton will have to watch out for his compatriot's unpredictable variety of shots, especially his effective drop shots as well as his own powerful serve.

Muchova to face Cirstea

Also on Arthur Ashe will be World No. 10 Karolina Muchova, who will be up against thirtieth seed Sorana Cirstea. The former is coming off the back of a successful North American swing where she reached the Cincinnati Open final before being defeated by Gauff.

However, Cirstea has had a good run at the US Open so far, defeating fourth seed Elena Rybakina in the third round 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-4. The Romanian then went on to oust fifteenth seed Belinda Bencic to reach her first major quarter-final since the 2009 French Open.

Meanwhile, Muchova has only dropped one set so far at the New York major, this being in her Round of 16 match against Xinyu Wang.

The Czech player leads their head-to-head 2:1, and her experience of playing this deep into majors, as well as her consistency, could give her the edge here.