US Open 2026 quarter-finals: Sabalenka v Noskova, Tiafoe v Michelsen – live

<div id="readability-page-1" class="page"><div id="liveblog-body"><p><span><gu-island name="KeyEventsCarousel" priority="feature" deferuntil="visible" props="{&quot;keyEvents&quot;:[{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;6a9ff30d8f0892c7693afba1&quot;,&quot;elements&quot;:[{&quot;_type&quot;:&quot;model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement&quot;,&quot;html&quot;:&quot;<p>Hello and welcome to our coverage of the US Open - day 10!</p>&quot;,&quot;elementId&quot;:&quot;c8537a29-6fc1-43c7-86c2-476f54f3209e&quot;},{&quot;_type&quot;:&quot;model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement&quot;,&quot;html&quot;:&quot;<p>So here we are, at the quarter-final stage. Gone is the compelling chaos of matches taking place here, there and everywhere in the earlier rounds, and finally we can make do with only one pair of eyes, our gaze both shrinking and intensifying now we’re down to the one singles court.</p>&quot;,&quot;elementId&quot;:&quot;0b49eea3-2242-495a-9a6c-874cc118850a&quot;},{&quot;_type&quot;:&quot;model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement&quot;,&quot;html&quot;:&quot;<p>Being the focus of that gaze is still something new to <strong>Linda Noskova</strong>, who’d reached only one grand slam quarter-final before her run to <a href=\&quot;https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/jul/11/linda-noskova-karolina-muchova-wimbledon-tennis-womens-final\&quot;>this summer’s Wimbledon title</a>, but the 21-year-old Czech seems unfazed by the big stage and is unlikely to be intimidated by the task of facing <strong>Aryna Sabalenka</strong> today, especially with the defending champion’s aura not what it was. Yes, Sabalenka has reached the last eight with four straight-sets wins, but her <a href=\&quot;https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/sep/04/someone-is-smoking-weed-sabalenka-halts-us-open-match-due-to-cannabis-smell\&quot;>prickly exchanges with reporters in the early rounds</a> perhaps betrayed the pressure she is feeling, having not claimed a grand slam this year or a title since March amid several head-scratching defeats to much lower-ranked players. Sabalenka also knows her near two-year stretch as the world No 1 will end if Elena Rybakina wins one more match in New York. If Noskova can reproduce her Wimbledon form today, we’ll get to find out where Sabalenka’s level and head is really at.</p>&quot;,&quot;elementId&quot;:&quot;018b2bb8-82a9-4ed5-8387-e85756dddbeb&quot;},{&quot;_type&quot;:&quot;model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement&quot;,&quot;html&quot;:&quot;<p>They’re first on Arthur Ashe in the day session, before the American derby between <strong>Frances Tiafoe</strong> – two times a semi-finalist at his most successful major but never a finalist – and the surprise package <strong>Alex Michelsen</strong>, who’s reached his first slam quarter-final without even dropping a set. Tiafoe, at 28, has far more experience than the 22-year-old Californian but is also carrying heavier baggage; he knows the years of opportunity are passing by, while Michelsen has almost nothing to lose - that’s if you can call a grand slam quarter-final a free shot. Crowd loyalty will be divided but Tiafoe will hope his superior athleticism and momentum from <a href=\&quot;https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2026/sep/06/us-open-tennis-2026-aryna-sabalenka-and-marta-kostyuk-in-action-on-day-eight-live\&quot;>his clutch win over Daniil Medvedev in the last 16</a> will see him through against a 6ft 5in, big-serving opponent who once compared himself to Obi-Wan Kenobi because of his ability to balance defence and attack.</p>&quot;,&quot;elementId&quot;:&quot;90ac34bd-7fbc-4530-bda9-4a9f5836b2ee&quot;},{&quot;_type&quot;:&quot;model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement&quot;,&quot;html&quot;:&quot;<p>Away from Arthur Ashe, the doubles continues – the top seeds and Wimbledon champions, Britain’s<strong> Henry Patten </strong>and Finland’s <strong>Harri Heliovaara</strong>, are among those in action) – while the wheelchair events begin, with the five-time US Open doubles champions <strong>Alfie Hewett </strong>and<strong> Gordon Reid</strong> among the headliners. And all of this before a blockbuster night session, as <strong>Carlos Alcaraz</strong> faces off against <strong>Ben Shelton</strong> and <strong>Jessica Pegula</strong> plays <strong>Emma Navarro</strong>, in the second all-American affair of the day.</p>&quot;,&quot;elementId&quot;:&quot;2af2e957-14cf-42fe-bcea-a6ce9154c852&quot;},{&quot;_type&quot;:&quot;model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement&quot;,&quot;html&quot;:&quot;<p><strong>Play on Arthur Ashe begins at: 11.30am New York time/4.30pm BST. </strong>So grab yourself a Honey Deuce and get settled in.</p>&quot;,&quot;elementId&quot;:&quot;1063d7cc-08c7-4ca0-b043-c44f1fedf220&quot;},{&quot;_type&quot;:&quot;model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.VideoYoutubeBlockElement&quot;,&quot;source&quot;:&quot;YouTube&quot;,&quot;originalUrl&quot;:&quot;https://youtube.com/shorts/RmtLAENsI6c?si=uAz-XSKRJph9CpHn&quot;,&quot;elementId&quot;:&quot;6f5398a7-08c9-4569-9668-8ccf6bc49490&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:640,&quot;embedUrl&quot;:&quot;https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/RmtLAENsI6c?wmode=opaque&amp;feature=oembed&quot;,&quot;role&quot;:&quot;inline&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://youtube.com/shorts/RmtLAENsI6c?si=uAz-XSKRJph9CpHn&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:480,&quot;sourceDomain&quot;:&quot;youtube-nocookie.com&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;How to Make the Viral $23 US Open Honey Deuce!&quot;,&quot;isThirdPartyTracking&quot;:false}],&quot;attributes&quot;:{&quot;pinned&quot;:false,&quot;keyEvent&quot;:true,&quot;summary&quot;:false},&quot;blockCreatedOn&quot;:1788879017000,&quot;blockCreatedOnDisplay&quot;:&quot;15.50&nbsp;BST&quot;,&quot;blockLastUpdated&quot;:1788879156000,&quot;blockLastUpdatedDisplay&quot;:&quot;15.52&nbsp;BST&quot;,&quot;blockFirstPublished&quot;:1788879017000,&quot;blockFirstPublishedDisplay&quot;:&quot;15.50&nbsp;BST&quot;,&quot;blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone&quot;:&quot;15.50&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Preamble&quot;,&quot;contributors&quot;:[],&quot;primaryDateLine&quot;:&quot;Tue 8 Sep 2026 15.52 BST&quot;,&quot;secondaryDateLine&quot;:&quot;First published on Tue 8 Sep 2026 15.50 BST&quot;}],&quot;id&quot;:&quot;key-events-carousel-mobile&quot;,&quot;renderingTarget&quot;:&quot;Web&quot;,&quot;serverTime&quot;:1788879896554}"><span id="key-events-carousel-mobile"></span><span><p>Key events</p></span><div id="key-events-carousel"><ul><li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2026/sep/08/us-open-tennis-2026-quarter-finals-sabalenka-noskova-tiafoe-michelsen-live?page=with%3Ablock-6a9ff30d8f0892c7693afba1#block-6a9ff30d8f0892c7693afba1" data-link-name="key event card | 0 of 1"><p><time datetime="2026-09-08T14:50:17.000Z" data-locale="en-gb" title="Tuesday, 8 September 2026 at 15:50 British Summer Time">14m ago</time></p><p>Preamble</p></a></li></ul></div></gu-island></span></p><article id="block-6a9ff30d8f0892c7693afba1"><header><h2>Preamble</h2></header><p>Hello and welcome to our coverage of the US Open - day 10!</p><p>So here we are, at the quarter-final stage. Gone is the compelling chaos of matches taking place here, there and everywhere in the earlier rounds, and finally we can make do with only one pair of eyes, our gaze both shrinking and intensifying now we’re down to the one singles court.</p><p>Being the focus of that gaze is still something new to <strong>Linda Noskova</strong>, who’d reached only one grand slam quarter-final before her run to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/jul/11/linda-noskova-karolina-muchova-wimbledon-tennis-womens-final" data-link-name="in body link">this summer’s Wimbledon title</a>, but the 21-year-old Czech seems unfazed by the big stage and is unlikely to be intimidated by the task of facing <strong>Aryna Sabalenka</strong> today, especially with the defending champion’s aura not what it was. Yes, Sabalenka has reached the last eight with four straight-sets wins, but her <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/sep/04/someone-is-smoking-weed-sabalenka-halts-us-open-match-due-to-cannabis-smell" data-link-name="in body link">prickly exchanges with reporters in the early rounds</a> perhaps betrayed the pressure she is feeling, having not claimed a grand slam this year or a title since March amid several head-scratching defeats to much lower-ranked players. Sabalenka also knows her near two-year stretch as the world No 1 will end if Elena Rybakina wins one more match in New York. If Noskova can reproduce her Wimbledon form today, we’ll get to find out where Sabalenka’s level and head is really at.</p><p>They’re first on Arthur Ashe in the day session, before the American derby between <strong>Frances Tiafoe</strong> – two times a semi-finalist at his most successful major but never a finalist – and the surprise package <strong>Alex Michelsen</strong>, who’s reached his first slam quarter-final without even dropping a set. Tiafoe, at 28, has far more experience than the 22-year-old Californian but is also carrying heavier baggage; he knows the years of opportunity are passing by, while Michelsen has almost nothing to lose - that’s if you can call a grand slam quarter-final a free shot. Crowd loyalty will be divided but Tiafoe will hope his superior athleticism and momentum from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2026/sep/06/us-open-tennis-2026-aryna-sabalenka-and-marta-kostyuk-in-action-on-day-eight-live" data-link-name="in body link">his clutch win over Daniil Medvedev in the last 16</a> will see him through against a 6ft 5in, big-serving opponent who once compared himself to Obi-Wan Kenobi because of his ability to balance defence and attack.</p><p>Away from Arthur Ashe, the doubles continues – the top seeds and Wimbledon champions, Britain’s<strong> Henry Patten </strong>and Finland’s <strong>Harri Heliovaara</strong>, are among those in action) – while the wheelchair events begin, with the five-time US Open doubles champions <strong>Alfie Hewett </strong>and<strong> Gordon Reid</strong> among the headliners. And all of this before a blockbuster night session, as <strong>Carlos Alcaraz</strong> faces off against <strong>Ben Shelton</strong> and <strong>Jessica Pegula</strong> plays <strong>Emma Navarro</strong>, in the second all-American affair of the day.</p><p><strong>Play on Arthur Ashe begins at: 11.30am New York time/4.30pm BST. </strong>So grab yourself a Honey Deuce and get settled in.</p><figure id="5a199e36-b080-4b22-b211-3fb946f482ab" data-spacefinder-role="inline" data-spacefinder-type="model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.VideoYoutubeBlockElement"></figure></article></div></div>