Second set: *Plíšková 4-6, 2-2 Sakkari (*denotes next server) Sakkari opens her service game with back-to-back winners for 30-love. She’s now hit twice as many winners (16) as unforced errors (eight). Sakkari then hits a 97mph second-serve service winner for 40-love and closes out (yet another) love hold with an 87mph first serve that Plíšková can’t get back into the court. Second set: Plíšková 4-6, 2-1 Sakkari* (*denotes next server) A much-needed straightforward hold for Plíšková. Still on serve early in the second. Second set: *Plíšková 4-6, 1-1 Sakkari (*denotes next server) Sakkari races out to 30-love, extending the streak of consecutive points won on her serve to a remarkable 22. Plíšková finally snaps the run when Sakkari misfires on a backhand. Sakkari wins another quick point for 40-15, double-faults for 40-30 before winning the next point to hold her opening service game of the second set. Second set: Plíšková 4-6, 1-0 Sakkari* (*denotes next server) Another complicated service game for Plíšková to open the second set. She immediately goes down love-15 with an unforced error early in the point. Sakkari goes on to push it to 30-all with a forehand winner, then another Plíšková double fault gives Sakkari an early break-point chance. Sakkari squanders it with an unforced error off the forehand side, then stakes a second break chance with a drop-shot winner. Plíšková saves that one, too. From there Plíšková noses ahead with a lovely forehand passing shot winner at the end of a 15-stroke rally followed by a 98mph service winner to escape with the hold. Sakkari wins first set, 6-4! First set: Plíšková 4-6 Sakkari Sakkari gives Plíšková no quarter, rattling off four quick points to hold at love once more and serve out the opening set in drama-free fashion. A remarkable serving performance by the No 17 seed: she’s won the last 20 points on her serve in succession since falling behind love-30 in her opening service game. First set: Plíšková 4-5 Sakkari* (*denotes next server) Plíšková follows an unforced backhand error with her second double fault of the night to go love-30 down and within two points of losing the first set. But she responds with a 97mph service winner, a forehand winner to cap a 15-stroke rally and a pair of unreturnable serves to hold. Now Sakkari will try to serve out the opener after the change of ends. First set: *Plíšková 3-5 Sakkari (*denotes next server) Serving at 15-love, Sakkari hits back-to-back aces followed by a backhand pasasing shot winner for yet another hold at love. That’s 16 straight points on her serve – and she’s only lost one point all night when getting her first serve in. Plíšková to serve to stay in the opener. First set: Plíšková 3-4 Sakkari* (*denotes next server) Plíšková pounds her third ace before Sakkari answers with a forehand winner for 15-all. From there Plíšková goes unreturnable, forehand winner, unreturnable for the stress-free hold. But she still trails by a break and will need to make some headway on Sakkari’s serve soon if she hopes to salvage this opening set. First set: *Plíšková 2-4 Sakkari (*denotes next server) Sakkari fires a 114mph ace down the middle then rattles off three more quick points for her second straight hold at love. She’s now won 12 straight points on her serve after dropping the first two. First set: Plíšková 2-3 Sakkari* (*denotes next server) Plíšková goes down love-15 on her serve when Sakkari settles a 12-shot rally, longest of the match so far, with a nifty drop-shot winner. Sakkari pushes it to 30-all before Plíšková pounds a 116mph first serve down the middle that Sakkari can’t handle for 40-30. Sakkari answers with a clean forehand winner for deuce, but Plíšková then rattles off a quick point followed by her second ace of the night to nail down the somewhat nervy hold. First set: *Plíšková 1-3 Sakkari (*denotes next server) Sakkari doesn’t mince about in backing up the break, holding at love. Plíšková contributes to the cause with her fourth and fifth unforced errors of the night (against just the one winner). Sakkari breaks in third game of first set! First set: Plíšková 1-2 Sakkari* (*denotes next server) With Plíšková serving at 15-all, Sakkari slots a forehand winner at the net for 15-30 and the first pressure point of the match. Then a Plíšková unforced error hands Sakkari a pair of break-point opportunities. She needs only one of them, converting the break when Pliskova dumps a forehand into the net early in a baseline exchange. First set: *Plíšková 1-1 Sakkari (*denotes next server) Sakkari makes a couple of unforced errors to quickly fall behind love-30 in her opening service game. But she does well to hold from there, going forehand winner, unreturnable, forehand winner before coming to net and forcing Plíšková into a miscue. First set: Plíšková 1-0 Sakkari* (*denotes next server) Plíšková, serving to start, races out to 40-love before making a unforced error off the forehand followed by a double fault for 40-30. But before things can get dicey, she crunches a 102mph ace for the hold. Plíšková was already the tournament’s aces leader with 58 coming into tonight. Make it 59. Plíšková and Sakkari have taken the court for tonight’s first quarter-final. Gorgeous 76F (24C) conditions on Ashe for this one. Chair umpire Alison Hughes has taken her perch. We should be under way shortly. Tonight’s quarter-final marks the third career meeting between Plíšková and Sakkari. They’ve split the previous two: Plíšková won 6-4, 6-4 in the 2019 Rome semi-finals en route to the title, while Sakkari won 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 at the same tournament one year earlier in the second round. Here’s what Plíšková had to say about the matchup following her fourth-round win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Monday: Of course, she’s a tough player. We’ve actually practiced once here before the tournament started. I mean, she’s a fighter. She actually I think really improved her game. She’s playing more aggressive than she used to play. She’s quite dangerous, beat good players this week. Also in Paris she played well. I think she’s having great year. I think she’s confident. It’s going to be difficult. I think I can be the one more aggressive in this match. Emma Raducanu will be watching tonight’s first match with great interest. After all, the 18-year-old from Kent, who confessed today that she’d booked a flight home for the end of the qualifying tournament, is set to face the winner on Thursday night with a spot in the US Open final on the line. Radacanu’s $675,000 cheque (£489,000) for reaching the last four more than triples her career winnings to date, but the rewards have already transcended the financial. For starters, getting name-checked by Liam Gallagher. Preamble Hello and welcome to Arthur Ashe Stadium for tonight’s US Open quarter-final twin bill. First up it’s fourth-seeded Karolína Plíšková and No 17 Maria Sakkari, who face off for the final women’s semi-final berth and the opportunity to meet surprise package Emma Raducanu tomorrow night. Then top-seeded Novak Djokovic will continue his pursuit of a record-setting 21st major singles title and the first calendar-year grand slam in men’s tennis in more than a half-century against the sixth seed Matteo Berrettini in a rematch of this year’s Wimbledon final. Plíšková and Sakkari will be taking the court for their warm-up about 20 minutes from now. Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s Tumaini Carayol’s report from today’s day-session surprise.