And Murray and Kei Nishikori will have the world's attention this afternoon as they play for a place in the U.S. Open semifinals.
Tonight, Stan Wawrinka and Juan Martin del Potro play for the semifinal berth. Their match begins about 9 p.m. ET. Britain's Murray and Japan's Nishikori take the court about 1 p.m. ET.
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Women's quarterfinal competition also concludes on Wednesday. Unseeded Ana Konjuh of Croatia will test Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, who is the 10th seed. That match was scheduled to begin at noon ET. The prime-time highlight: No. 1 Serena Williams vs. No. 5 Simona Halep at 7 p.m. ET.
Novak Djokovic walked into the semifinals on Wednesday when France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga quit the match in the third set. The other semifinalist is Gael Monfils of France.
Murray dominated recent matches against Nishikori, winning seven of the past eight. That includes a match in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
"I've played well against him in the past but he likes these conditions," Murray told the BBC. http://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/37293317
"I played a really good match against him when we played a few weeks ago. I'm aware I'll need to do that again if I want to beat him, because he's one of the best players in the world."
Del Potro is the Open's wild card, a player who missed a year after wrist surgery. The problem for Wawrinka is this: Del Potro's victory at Rio against Wawrinka was a launching point in his comeback.
"It was very, very important because I start to believe in myself," del Potro said of that win. "I'm feeling aggressive with my game. I'm feeling competitive in front of all the players. I think I'm in good shape to see the future."
The U.S. Open semifinals take place on Friday. Its 2016 champion will be determined on Sunday. Djokovic is defending champion.
| U.S. Open schedule and results |
|---|
| Quarterfinal |
| Gael Monfils, France, defeated Lucas Pouille, France, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 |
| Novak Djokovic, Serbia, defeated, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, France, retired in third round |
| Wednesday, Sept. 7 |
| Kei Nishikori, Japan, vs. Andy Murray, Britain, 1 p.m. ET |
| Juan Martin del Potro, Argentina, vs. Stan Wawrinka, Switzerland, 9 p.m. ET |
| Semifinal |
| Friday, Sept. 9 |
| Novak Djokovic, Serbia, vs. Gael Monfils, France |
| Nishikori-Murray winner vs. del Potro-Wawrinka winner |
| Final |
| Sunday, Sept. 11 |
All remaining men's and women's matches take place in Arthur Ashe Stadium at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, N.Y.