For the second straight major, the early rounds were quite tumultuous, with many seeds dropping to the wayside.  But as we look upon the last eight in each draw, many familiar names remain, especially on the men's side.  The top four players in the world are through, Federer notwithstanding (although his ranking will improve to #6).  The top women, as has been their wont, are inconsistent as ever, save Serena and Azarenka, and they are joined by Li.  Radwanska, Errani, Kvitova, Wozniacki, Stosur, etc have been dumped out, the majority by unseeded women early in the tournament.  So in the women's draw, we are begging to just get to the Serena/Azarenka final - though Li would like to have a say too - but we could potentially have some big battles prior to the final in the men's event.

So without further ado, here are the quarterfinalists, with their previous experience at this level.

Men
1) Novak Djokovic (SRB) - 26th major quarterfinal (7th at the US Open), 20-5 record (6-0), 18th consecutive QF
2) Rafael Nadal (ESP) - 25th major quarterfinal (6th at the US Open), 20-4 record (4-1), last '13 French Open
3) Andy Murray (GBR) - 17th major quarterfinal (4th at the US Open), 13-3 record (3-0), 2nd consecutive QF
4) David Ferrer (ESP) - 13th major quarterfinal (3rd at Wimbledon), 6-6 record (2-0), 8th consecutive QF
8) Richard Gasquet (FRA) - 2nd major quarterfinal (1st at the US Open), 1-0 record, last '07 Wimbledon
9) Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) - 4th major quarterfinal (2nd at the US Open), 0-3 record (0-1), last '13 French Open
19) Tommy Robredo (ESP) - 7th major quarterfinal (1st at the US Open), 0-6 record, last '13 French Open
21) Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) - 6th major quarterfinal (3rd at the US Open), 2-3 record (2-0), last '12 Wimbledon

-Djokovic, Murray, and Ferrer were all still alive in the quarters at Wimbledon
-The same three were also the only men to also make the quarters at the '12 US Open.  Federer, Berdych, and Tipsarevic all came one round short of repeating the feat, while Del Potro lost early and Cilic did not participate.
-The no. 1 and no. 3 rankings are both still up for grabs.  Nadal must win the title to take no. 1 but only if Djokovic is not his victim.  Whoever goes farther between Murray and Ferrer will be no. 3.
-Only Djokovic has yet to lose a set
-Did they install blue clay in New York?  Three Spaniards are through to the quarters, and neither Lopez nor Verdasco among them.
-It has been over 6 years since Gasquet reached at major quarterfinal, but he has been to fourth round 11 times since.

Women
1) Serena Williams (USA) - 37th major quarterfinal (11th at the US Open), 23-13 record (7-3), last '13 French Open
2) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) - 11th major quarterfinal (2nd at the US Open), 6-4 record (1-0), last '13 French Open
5) Na Li (CHN) - 9th major quarterfinal (2nd at the US Open), 4-4 record (0-1), 2nd consecutive QF
10) Roberta Vinci (ITA) - 2nd major quarterfinal (2nd at the US Open), 0-1 record (0-1), last '12 US Open
18) Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP) - 3rd major quarterfinal (1st at the US Open), 0-2 record, last '09 Aussie Open
24) Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) - 3rd major quarterfinal (1st at the US Open), 0-2 record, last '13 Aussie Open
Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) - 5th major quarterfinal (2nd at the US Open), 1-3 record (0-1), last '08 Aussie Open
Flavia Pennetta (ITA) - 4th major quarterfinal (4th at the US Open), 0-3 record, last '11 US Open

-Only Li was also in the quarters at Wimbledon
-Serena, Azarenka, and Vinci were all in the quarters at the US Open last year.  Of the others, Sharapova and Bartoli aren't playing, Errani and Stosur went out early, but Ivanovic took a set off Azarenka before losing in round 4.
-For a second consecutive US Open, there will be an all-Italian quarterfinal
-Pennetta has never made a major quarterfinal outside of New York, but has somehow reached the last eight in 4 of her last 5 appearances at the year's final major
-There is little drama on the rankings front.  Li has moved passed Errani to no. 5 in the world.  Pennetta has halved her ranking to 42 and Hantuchova is back into the top 30.

The men have combined to reach 100 major quarterfinals while the women have managed 74.

Quarterfinal matchups:

Djokovic vs Youzhny
Murray vs Wawrinka
Ferrer vs Gasquet
Nadal vs Robredo

Serena def Suarez Navarro
Li def Makarova
Vinci vs Pennetta
Azarenka vs Hantuchova

*This is all assuming Murray gets through against Istomin.  As this is posted, he leads 2 sets to 1.