US Open Doubles Preview: Day 11

Day 11 of the US Open tournament begins today and there are just three days left for all the action to come to an end in New York. Only three doubles matches are set to be played today, with most of the highly ranked seeds already giving way to some of the unseeded pairings in the tournament.

In the women’s doubles match, one semi-final match is set to be played between Dellacqua-Shvedova and Groenefeld-Vandeweghe. The winner will face favourites Mirza-Hingis in the finals after the number one seeds won their match against 11th seeds Sara Errani and Flavia Pennetta

The men’s doubles event, on the other hand, will see both semi-final matches being played following the conclusion of two quarterfinal ties on Day 10. Herbert-Mahut and Murray-Peers are already in the semi-finals courtesy their wins on Day 9, so the spots for the finals will be figured out at the end of the day’s play.

Let’s have a look at the three matches that will take place on Day 11:

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Anna-Lena Groenefeld/Coco Vandeweghe vs Casey Dellacqua/Yaroslava Shvedova (4)

Fourth seeds Casey Dellacqua and Yaroslava Shvedova will compete against Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Coco Vandeweghe in the semi-finals of the women’s doubles event at the Flushing Meadows.

The Aussie-Kazakh pairing endured yet another three-setter in their quarterfinal clash against number 12 seeds Kudryavtseva and Pavlyuchenkova, beating them 6-2 2-6 6-3 to reach their first US Open semi.

Their unseeded opposition went on to knock out yet another top seed after their demolition of seventh seeds Hlavackova-Hradecka in the third round. They beat the fifth seeded Caroline Garcia and Katarina in straight sets once again, winning their match 7-6 7-5 to really consolidate their stance as the underdogs of the tournament.

This will be the first time the two teams face off against each other in a competitive doubles match-up.

Prediction: Despite the possibility of an upset, Dellacqua and Shvedova’s experience should see them through.

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Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Nicolas Mahut (12) vs Dominic Inglot/Robert Lindstedt

Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut will take on Dominic Inglot and Robert Lindstedt in the final four of the US Open after knocking out the highly favoured third seeds Jean-Julien Rojer from the Netherlands and Romania’s Horia Tecau.

This is the second straight round in which the 12th seeded duo have knocked out anyone seeded higher them and will now be looking to take their good form all the way to the final, considering that most of the top seeds are already out.

Brit Dominic Inglot and his Swedish partner Robert Lindstedt also took down a top seed in the quarter-final, beating sixth-seeded Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea in straight-sets 7-6 6-3.

No head-to-head record exists for this match-up, making it the first time the two will play each other.

Prediction: Herbert-Mahut to take this one in a potential three-setter and reach the finals of the US Open.

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Steve Johnson/Sam Querrey vs Jamie Murray/John Peers (8)

Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey will be under pressure to keep America’s hopes alive in the men’s doubles event when they take on the in-form eighth seeds Jamie Murray and John Peers for a place in the finals of the US Open.

The unseeded pair, who shocked the tennis world with a three-set victory against the Bryan brothers, cruised through to the semis with a straight-sets 6-3 6-4 win over Argentine Leonardo Mayer and Portugal’s Joao Sousa.

Jamie Murray from Great Britain and Australia’s John Peers had not really been tested by their opponents in the first three rounds of the tournament but were dealt with a mini-scare of sorts when they beat Matkowski-Zimonjic 6-3 3-6 7-6.

The last match-up between the two took place in the Brisbane tournament earlier in the year. Murray-Peers qualified the finals of the hardcourt tournament with a 7-6, 7-6 victory over their American opponents.

Prediction: Murray-Peers to win this one in three sets, despite their opposition upsetting the Bryan brothers earlier in the tournament.