[6] Coco Gauff had her hands full with [32] Elise Mertens. I believe if Mertens was not so exhausted mentally and emotionally, she would have upset Gauff. People get bent out of shape when we make observations, but I will anyway. I have followed Coco Gauff before she was a household name. I see good changes in her game and bad changes in her game. Gauff was determined to gain the victory and she won 3-6, 6-3, 6-0.

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No Worries For Taylor Fritz

[9] Taylor Fritz demolished the teenager, Jakub Mensik. However, despite the score, there was a smoothness to the strokes of the teenager. If he had competed a little better, it could have been an interesting match. Fritz won 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 and was never troubled on his serve. Fritz had better not be complacent because Dominic Stricker will fight to the bitter end.

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These Americans Are Still Going Strong

[10] Frances Tiafoe got off to a sluggish start against [22] Adrian Mannarino. However, Tiafoe regained his focus to win the second and third sets easily. Mannarino fought back to force the fourth set to a tiebreaker, but he could not force it to a fifth set. Tiafoe won 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-6(6).

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[14] Tommy Paul put on an impressive display against a tricky opponent, [21] Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Perhaps the Spaniard was not feeling well. Paul won 6-1, 6-0, 3-6, 6-3. It was a good day at the office for young Ben Shelton. He played Aslan Karatsev, who is no slouch; however, something must have been bothering the Russian because he just did not compete in the latter stages of the match. Shelton served an ace at 147mph and pretty much overpowered his opponent for most of the match. The American won 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 6-0. Unfortunately for Paul and Shelton, they will face each other in the next round.

The Other Players In The Tournament

Laslo Djere was two sets up against [2] Novak Djokovic; yet he managed to choke that lead away. This is interesting though, perhaps Djokovic is feeling the pressure. Will Borna Gojo have the guts to take it to the Serbian? So much of tennis is about belief, not fake bravado, real belief that you can beat anyone. Djokovic won 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, 6-3. Frankly, I do not see anyone stopping Djokovic from getting to the final. In contrast, the top half of the draw is loaded. There are so many players that can prevent [1] Carlos Alcaraz from getting back to the final to defend his title.

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The dust has settled, and no one fears the serve and game of [4] Elena Rybakina anymore. [30] Sorana Cirstea has won two titles in her career and none of them was a major and yet she was able to upset Rybakina. By the way, Rybakina had never lost to the Romanian prior to this. One or two things may be going on here. Rybakina was not as physically fit as she needed to be to play in the heat and humidity of the US Open. The other possibility, she is emotionally and mentally not fit. Somewhere inside, there is a niggling belief that has caused her to lose her fearlessness. Cirstea won 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-4.

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