Follow live coverage of Day 7 of the 2024 US Open

The fourth round of the US Open begins on the seventh day. Only 16 players remain in the men’s and women’s singles.

Coco Gauff and Emma Navarro will face each other in a repeat of their brilliant encounter at Wimbledon, while Frances Tiafoe also has her sights set on the quarter-finals.

Here’s what you should look at:

Arthur Ashe

Time Event: 12:00 p.m. ET, 9:00 a.m. PT
TV: ESPN, Tennis Channel

Andrey Rublev (6) vs. Grigor Dimitrov (9)

There are 16 players left in the men’s field. Only two have won a Grand Slam title. They are both on the same side of the draw and will meet in the quarterfinals, if they even make it that far.

For the other 14, Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev are in thin air, but only one of them will have a chance to get some air next Sunday at 2 p.m. in Arthur Ashe Stadium. Andrey Rublev, who has struggled with racket scars on his knees and thighs for the past few months, has never made it past the quarterfinals; Grigor Dimitrov, who has resurrected in the same period, has three semifinals to his name.

With the US Open becoming one big window of opportunity, both men will be ready to stake their claim.

Emma Navarro (13) vs. Coco Gauff (3)

Let’s rewind a week, or less than two months. It’s dark in southwest London and Coco Gauff is screaming into the floodlights at Wimbledon. “Tell me something,” she says to her coach Brad Gilbert. On the other side of the net stands Emma Navarro, on her way to a straight-set victory.

The two knew each other as juniors, before Cori Gauff was “Coco” and a world-famous athlete, and before Navarro’s seemingly unstoppable rise to the top 10. Gauff knows what to expect – slow balls to her forehand and unexpected changes of pace. Now she has to deal with it.

Emma Navarro’s performance against Coco Gauff at Wimbledon was one of the best of her career. (Clive Brunskill / Getty Images)

Frances Tiafoe (20) vs. Alexei Popyrin (28)

Friday’s heroes at Arthur Ashe meet. Tiafoe, who took back in five sets what Ben Shelton stole from him 12 months ago. Popyrin, who faced Novak Djokovic for the third time this year in a Grand Slam and claimed his first win over him. Tiafoe will have the noise and fury on his side; Popyrin the prestige of having beaten a defending champion. Shelton said Tiafoe returned his serve better after his loss than anyone else all year; Tiafoe will have to do the same to the Australian again.

Zheng Qinwen (7) vs. Donna Vekic (24)

A repeat of the gold medal match at the Olympics last month, in which Zheng, one of the WTA Tour’s shrewdest tacticians, used high, strong spin – and the odd real moonball – to neutralise Vekic. That’s not so easy on a faster court than the Paris clay, and the Croatian should have more opportunities to thunder her inside-out forehand into the corners.

Louis Armstrong

Time Event: 11am ET, 8am PT
TV: ESPN, Tennis Channel

Paula Badosa (26) against Wang Yafan

Paula Badosa and Stefanos Tsitsipas are going through a period of contrasts as a couple. The Greek’s career is, there is no other way to describe it, on the decline. Badosa’s career is on the up again after recovering from an injury that she thought could be the end of her. Tsitsipas loves New York, but he is not on the same wavelength. Badosa is not a big fan and is in the round of 16. Wang Yafan is her first opponent in the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament, having beaten former finalist Victoria Azarenka in the previous round.

Casper Ruud (8) vs. Taylor Fritz (12)

Is there a three-time Grand Slam finalist more reserved than Casper Ruud? On Friday he was two sets down against Shang Juncheng and looked like he was going to shoot out of a promising position, something that has happened a few times recently. Instead he won the next three sets 18-4. Taylor Fritz, meanwhile, has been quietly working his way through the draw, just like he did at Wimbledon. Expect some tiebreaks.

Brandon Nakashima vs. Alexander Zverev (4)

Of all the players still in the men’s draw, Alexander Zverev will view this US Open as an opportunity. That might not be good. Zverev, who was two sets ahead of Dominic Thiem in the 2020 final here before earning two sets and losing one to crippling nerves, lost the French Open final to Carlos Alcaraz earlier this year. At that tournament, he said he felt he had a chance to win it; he said the same at Wimbledon, where a knee injury hampered him in the loss to Fritz. Nakashima, whose serve is currently one of the best on the ATP Tour, eliminated one of their best returners, Lorenzo Musetti, in the previous round. Expect more tiebreaks in this match.

Brandon Nakashima will pose a serious threat to Alexander Zverev’s hopes of winning his first Grand Slam title. (Matthew Stockman / Getty Images)

Elise Mertens (33) vs. Aryna Sabalenka (2)

Aryna Sabalenka last lost to Elise Mertens in 2018, and in their last meeting in New York, the Belgian won just five games. The aggravating factor here? Recovery. Sabalenka only took to the court in the early hours of Friday morning before being forced out in three sets by Ekaterina Alexandrova. She said she got home at 3 a.m. and then slept until 12 p.m. Mertens finished with Madison Keys a few hours before the Belarusian started.

Required reading

(Top photos of Frances Tiafoe and Coco Gauff: Getty Images)