Despite 76 winners and relentless fighting spirit from No. 12 seed Denis Shapovalov, Pablo Carreno Busta remained unflappable in their US Open quarter-final on Tuesday.

The No. 20 seed was largely stoic throughout their four-hour, nine-minute showdown inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. Tirelessly retrieving balls and blocking back the onslaught of Shapovalov’s power, Carreno Busta overcame a back injury late in the match and dug deep to prevail 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(4), 0-6, 6-3 for his second US Open semi-final.

”I’m destroyed, but I’m very happy. It’s incredible to be back in the semi-finals,” Carreno Busta said to ESPN’s James Blake after the match. “I think I’m very comfortable on these courts.

”I think the past months during quarantine was very tough for everyone. I worked very hard with my coach. When you work hard, normally the results arrive. Maybe not in the first tournament, but I’m very lucky to be in the semi-finals.”

?? V A M O S ??

Congratulations, @pablocarreno91 ?#USOpen pic.twitter.com/PtB7PN2fmj

— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 9, 2020

Carreno Busta continues to excel at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. In addition to his semi-final three years ago, the Spaniard also won his first ATP Masters 1000 doubles title two weeks ago alongside Alex de Minaur at the Western & Southern Open. He improved to 4-1 in his ATP Head2Head series with Shapovalov and has prevailed in their past three matches.

Standing between him and the championship match is fifth seed Alexander Zverev, who defeated No. 27 seed Borna Coric earlier in the day. Zverev won their lone ATP Head2Head meeting two years ago in Miami.

Head up, ?? @denis_shapo

A great week for the 21-year-old who became the first Canadian male to reach the #USOpen quarters in the Open Era ? pic.twitter.com/GO1J7J5iur

— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 9, 2020

Carreno Busta and Shapovalov traded breaks to start the match, but it was clear from the onset that Shapovalov would be dictating play with his winners and unforced errors. He was even more energised than usual, yelling when he hit thunderous winners and jogging to his chair after service holds. Shapovalov struck a down-the-line forehand to break again at 4-3 in the opening set and held comfortably in the next game for an early advantage.

Service breaks once again highlighted the start of the second set as both men held serve once each in the first six games. As Shapovalov’s first-serve percentage began to drop, his second serve betrayed him. He hit six double faults in the second set and won just eight of 23 second-serve points. Carreno Busta took advantage of the opportunities provided to him, striking a backhand passing shot at 3/2 in the tie-break and converting his third set point with an ace to level the match. 

Carreno Busta’s relentless retrieving and consistency contributed to Shapovalov’s increased unforced error count and a 4-2 lead for the Spaniard in the third set. But the Canadian continued to battle, earning the break back at 4-3 with powerful baseline play and bravely saving a break point with an ace at 5-5.

With the third-set tie-break even at 4/4, Carreno Busta stepped up and played some of his most aggressive tennis of the night. He earned a mini-break with a solid down-the-line backhand, then ripped an unreturned first serve and forehand winner to take a commanding advantage.

The grueling rallies appeared to take their toll on the 29-year-old Spaniard as he began to take more time in between points. Shapovalov opened the fourth set with a forehand winner to break serve, then won 20 of the next 24 points to take their clash to a decider.

Carreno Busta received a medical timeout on his lower back before the start of the fifth set. Although his movement improved significantly, Shapovalov appeared to have more energy and bounced between return points even as the match neared the four-hour mark.

But Carreno Busta’s steadiness prevailed as Shapovalov’s streakiness proved to be his undoing. A backhand error set up two break points for Carreno Busta at 3-2 and Shapovalov stood in disbelief as he double faulted to give away the break.

The Spaniard raised his arms in triumph after a forehand return in the net from Shapovalov, his 76th unforced error of the night, wrapped up the match.

Three years ago, a 19-year-old Andrey Rublev became the youngest US Open quarter-finalist since Andy Roddick in 2001. The Russian teenager faced a great challenge against top seed Rafael Nadal, who eliminated him in only 96 minutes.

“He gave me a lesson: 1, 2, and 2,” Rublev said, referencing the score.

The big-hitting righty is back into the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows. But this is not the same Rublev. This is a newer, better version of the ball-thrasher from Moscow.

“I hope and I wish that I’m a better player, that I have a better mentality, that physically for sure I’m better, game-wise as well,” Rublev said. “For sure I improved a lot in the past three years. I’m really happy that I reached my second quarter-final here at the US Open.”

Sure, the 22-year-old has improved different physical aspects of his game, including his serve, footwork and overall physique. But he has taken his biggest leaps mentally.

Rublev was always capable of blowing opponents off the court, but his success came in spurts and he was inconsistent. According to his quarter-final opponent, close friend Daniil Medvedev, that’s no longer the case.

“He really progressed starting last year. I think he changed something in his mindset, in his game,” Medvedev said. “Now he’s one of the best players in the world, only going up the rankings. [He will be in the] Top 10 soon, I guess. Really happy for him.”

This was evident in the fourth round against 2019 semi-finalist Matteo Berrettini Last year, the Italian cruised past Rublev in straight sets in the same round. The sixth seed appeared on the same path after winning the first set on Monday, but Rublev did not panic, instead seizing control and rallying for a four-set triumph.

“He probably was thinking, ‘Shucks, I’m going to lose to this guy again,’” former World No. 4 Brad Gilbert, who was broadcasting the match, said. “But he stepped up. Now he’s got a tough match with Medvedev.”

“Last year I remember he started to play really well, he started to play aggressively and I was not ready to accept that. I started to complain really early. I was thinking, ‘How was it possible that he’s playing so good? I cannot play the same way.’ When I woke up I was already losing two sets to zero and he was already so confident,” Rublev said. “[This time] he started also so good. He was aggressive, he was dictating. I think I accepted this a little earlier and that’s why after the first set I was able to come back and start to play better.”

Berrettini believes Rublev improved in several areas.

“I think he’s returning better, serving better. His forehand and backhand are heavier,” Berrettini said. “I knew every time that I play him that he was improving… I think he improved everything a little bit. Today he was just better than me.”

Rublev is at a career-high No. 14 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, and former World No. 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov, the first Russian to win a Grand Slam singles title, believes he “definitely” still has room to grow.

“One area I’d love for him to improve is his physical conditioning, his footwork. I think it remains to be better,” Kafelnikov said. “If he improves his quickness and footwork on the court as well as his first serve a little bit, he’s going to win many Grand Slams, I have no doubt about it.”

Kafelnikov first met Rublev when he was around 16 at a Davis Cup tie, and the Russian teen was already an impressive junior. The 26-time tour-level singles titlist is happy to see Rublev living up to those early expectations.

“There have been many cases in the past when some talented prospect has a fantastic junior career and when they try to transfer it to the different level they struggle,” Kafelnikov said. “That has not been the case for Andrey. He transferred his junior success into the men’s level, so that’s really nice to see.”

After Nadal defeated Rublev in New York three years ago, he had plenty of praise for the young Russian.

“If he continues with that improvement, he going to fight for the most important things that we have in our sport,” Nadal said. “Even if you are young and you are having success, you know that you have to keep doing things that make you a better player.
I think he’s doing that, and that’s the most important thing in our sport.”

Rublev has made strides over the past three years. On Wednesday afternoon, Rublev will step onto the court inside Arthur Ashe Stadium for his second quarter-final at Flushing Meadows, where he will have a chance to prove it. 

The days of Alexander Zverev underperforming in Grand Slams are a thing of the past.

The 23-year-old reached his first Grand Slam semi-final in January at the Australian Open and matched that effort at the US Open with his four-set win on Tuesday against Borna Coric. Zverev became the first German since Boris Becker (1995) to reach the last four in New York.

His deep runs this year are the result of a long process to overcome mental barriers at major championships. Zverev had to get accustomed to competing in tournaments he watched growing up, then adapt to the attention that comes with being a contender to win them. The tension he felt contributed to several surprise losses, including one to Coric at the 2017 US Open, but he’s now able to bring his best tennis to these events.

“I wanted it too much. I was trying too hard in Grand Slams,” Zverev said. “When you start playing tennis at a young age, the thing you always wanted to do is to play in big tournaments [and] the big finals. I feel like this is the reason I started playing tennis.

“I needed to learn how to deal with that pressure [and] those expectations of myself. It took me a little bit of time, but now I’m in the semi-finals of the US Open and I definitely don’t want to stop here.”

Although Zverev has made great strides in adopting a more relaxed approach, he’s the first to admit that it’s a work in progress. He leaked errors for the first set-and-a-half against Coric and was unable to settle down inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. But when it appeared that Coric would sprint to victory, Zverev opted for bigger targets and to make his opponent beat him. Slowly but surely, he got himself back in the match.

“It’s not a secret that I didn’t play my best. But I found a way to win that second set and I feel like that’s the most important thing,” Zverev said. “I told myself, ‘Look, if you keep playing like this, you’re going to be down two-sets-to-love in a blink.’ Sometimes not playing your best and finding a way is more important than playing your best.”

Zverev holds at least one ATP Head2Head win against everyone remaining in the draw and has a significant opportunity to win his first Grand Slam title on Sunday. Although the buzz around him is growing, he’s learned not to get caught up in the attention.

”We’re going to have a new Grand Slam champion. This is the one thing that we know for sure,” Zverev said. “There are a lot of guys that want it… I know that all of the young guys are hungry for it. It’s going to be interesting.”