Nick Kyrgios recently proposed a change in the men’s Grand Slam format. His suggestion came after Aryna Sabalenka eased past Zheng Qinwen in the US Open quarterfinals in just 73 minutes.
Aryna Sabalenka dominated from the outset, dropping only one game to win the first set 6-1. The Belarusian carried the momentum, taking the second set 6-2 to eliminate the 2024 Olympic gold medalist, wrapping up the match in a little over an hour.Nick Kyrgios later contrasted the quickness of Sabalenka’s triumph with the lengthy first-round match between Dan Evans and Karen Khachanov, which was longest match in US Open history.Moreover the Australian suggested that men’s Grand Slam matches could be shortened to best-of-three sets, at least until the quarterfinals. Kyrgios shared his thoughts on X.
“This match will go for just over an hour. Quarter finals. Evans / Khachanov went 5 hours and 45 mins. First round. Maybe we do best of three for the men up until the quarters? Then best of five? But this is kinda crazy,” Kyrgios wrote.
However, the 29-year-old previously pushed back against a journalist who claimed that the women’s three-set Grand Slam format was tougher than the men’s five-set format.
With her victory at this year’s US Open quarterfinals, Sabalenka has now improved her last-eight record at Grand Slams to 9-1.
“Looking for another great battle”: Aryna Sabalenka ahead of her US Open SF clash against Emma Navarro
With the quarterfinal win at the US Open 2024 Aryna Sabalenka also became the first woman to reach four consecutive US Open semifinals after Serena Williams. The World No. 2 is set to face 13th seed Emma Navarro in the semifinals. Ahead of the encounter, she expressed her excitement by recalling their previous close matches.
“[Navarro is] doing really well. Beautiful to see she’s working hard, playing really great tennis, smart tennis, moving well, hitting pretty heavy shots. Last two matches we played was really tough, tough matches physically and mentally. Even though I won the last one in two sets, it wasn’t that easy match, and it was very intense match. I’m really looking for another great battle against her,” Sabalenka told the press ( via WTA).
The match against Sabalenka will be Navarro’s maiden appearance in the semifinals of a Major. The American defeated Anna Blinkova, Arantxa Rus, Marta Kostyuk, Coco Gauff, and Paula Badosa to reach the semifinals of the New York Major.Sabalenka and Navarro have met twice on tour, with their head-to-head record currently tied at 1-1.
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