US Open: Quarterfinals

The men haven't had quite the topsy-turvy tournament that the women have but that doesn't mean there hasn't been surprises.  There are 5 of the top 8 still remaining and 6 of the top 10 but for my part I was mildly surprised but Nishikori over Raonic and Tsonga over Murray.  And what of Berdych, very under the radar but here he is in the quarters with a winnable quarterfinal and we know about his success against Federer.  The men also haven't been without their own youth movement either with Thiem making a run to the 4th round.  There a still plenty of good matches ahead in the men's draw I presume.  Here are the quarterfinalists:

Men
1) Novak Djokovic (SRB) - 30th major quarterfinal (8th at the US Open), 23-6 record (7-0), 22nd consecutive QF
2) Roger Federer (SUI) - 43rd major quarterfinal (10th at the US Open), 35-7 record (8-1), 2nd consecutive QF
3) Stan Wawrinka (SUI) - 7th major quarterfinal (3rd at the US Open), 2-4 record (1-1), 2nd consecutive QF
6) Tomas Berdych (CZE) - 11th major quarterfinal (2nd at the US Open), 4-6 record (1-0), last '14 French Open
8) Andy Murray (GBR) - 21st major quarterfinal (5th at the US Open), 14-6 record (3-1), 6th consecutive QF (15th that he played)
10) Kei Nishikori (JPN) - 2nd major quarterfinal (1st at the US Open), 0-1 record, last '12 Aussie Open
14) Marin Cilic (CRO) - 5th major quarterfinal (3rd at the US Open), 1-3 record (0-2), 2nd consecutive QF
20) Gael Monfils (FRA) - 6th major quarterfinal (2nd at the US Open), 1-4 record (0-1), last '14 French Open

-The men have now combined to reach 124 major quarterfinals, the consistency of the top players in incredible
-There are 7 countries represented with 2 Swiss - and no Spaniards!
-Djokovic continues to try and chase down Federer's consecutive quarterfinal streak, only 14 behind
-Five of these players were in the last eight at Wimbledon (Djokovic, Federer, Wawrinka, Murray, Cilic) and only Nishikori failed to reach a quarterfinal earlier this year
-Only Djokovic and Monfils have made it through without dropping a set - the latter is a shock
-Only Djokovic, Wawrinka, and Murray remain from the '13 quarterfinalists.  Those who didn't make it back were Nadal (w/d), Gasquet (R3 l. to Monfils), Ferrer (R3 l. to Simon), Robredo (R4 l. to Wawrinka), and Youzhny (R1 l. to Kyrgios).
-Djokovic will still be no. 1 after the tournament
-The only movement in the top 10 is Berdych passing Raonic to get back to no. 6.  Federer must win the title to pass Nadal for no. 2.
-Monfils is up to no. 18 and is the French #2 as Gasquet has fallen to no. 21.  Thiem will rise to a career high no. 36.  With no lowly ranked players remaining, there isn't people just shooting up the rankings.

I am still going with a Djokovic/Federer final and still like Djokovic in that matchup, but Djokovic has a tough road ahead to get there after beating Kohlschreiber he plays Murray then possibly Wawrinka or Nishikori.  Monfils has played amazing but I don't think he'll beat Federer, but Berdych becomes a dark horse to reach the final after some how he is still in the draw.

Matchups:
-Djokovic vs Murray (rematch of last year's final)
-Wawrinka vs Nishikori
-Berdych vs Cilic
-Federer vs Monfils

**WOMEN's REPORT - posted Monday night**  So after the relative calm of the first two rounds, the upset bug struck again and we are left with only one single digit seed.  The second youngest player in the draw (Bencic) is still standing, with wins over Wickmayer, Nara, Kerber, and Jankovic.  The veteran Peng has been good, defeating Zheng, Radwanska, Vinci, and Safarova.  And very nearly was it the nearly unknown qualifier Krunic with wins over Piter, Keys, Kvitova, and (almost) Azarenka.  But even with the departure of the majority of 9 of the world's top 10, there are plenty of quality players remaining in this draw, with 4 players who have reached a major final.  So here's the remaining women:

Women
1) Serena Williams (USA) - 38th major quarterfinal (12th at the US Open), 24-13 record (8-3), last '13 US Open
10) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) - 7th major quarterfinal (4th at the US Open), 4-2 record (3-0), last '12 Aussie Open
11) Flavia Pennetta (ITA) - 6th major quarterfinal (5th at the US Open), 1-4 record (1-3), last '14 Aussie Open
13) Sara Errani (ITA) - 6th major quarterfinal (2nd at the US open), 3-2 record (1-0), last '14 French Open
16) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) - 13th major quarterfinal (3rd at the US Open), 7-5 record (2-0), last '14 Aussie Open
17) Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) - 5th major quarterfinal (2nd at the US Open), 0-4 record (0-1), 2nd consecutive QF
Shuai Peng (CHN) - 1st major quarterfinal!
Belinda Bencic (SUI) - 1st major quarterfinal!

-The women have now combined to reach 77 major quarterfinals, which is more than you might have expected given these names
-There are 7 countries represented with 2 Italians
-Only Makarova was in the last eight at Wimbledon, so no women made the quarters at all 4 majors
-Serena, Makarova, and Peng have all yet to lose a set
-Half the quarterfinalists from last year have returned: Serena, Azarenka, Pennetta, and Makarova.  Those who didn't make it back were Li (w/d), Suarez Navarro (R3 l. to Kanepi), Vinci (R3 l. to Peng), and Hantuchova (R2 l. to Cornet).
-With the early losses by Halep and Kvitova, Serena will remain no. 1 after the tournament.
-Azarenka (defending finals points) is back to no. 23 at present.  Peng has risen to no. 30 and Bencic to no. 33.  Other big time movers were Lucic-Baroni (up 41 to no. 80), Krunic (up 54 to no. 91)
-In the top 10, Kvitova and Sharapova have moved past Radwanska and Li for nos. 3 and 4.  Bouchard has passed Kerber back for no. 7.
-Hantuchova has fallen out of the top 50 and Riske has dived down to no. 64.
-The American women are now 19-16 after only Serena reached the 4th round.  Lepchenko lost to Serena, Gibbs to Pennetta, and Venus to Errani

Serena remains the favorite in the draw but there are still some ladies in the draw who could beat her. Azarenka could be dangerous, given that she's survived 4 matches but then again struggled with Krunic.  Makarova could potentially beat both but regardless of who wins Azarenka/Makarova I think Serena will reach the final and then when the tournament over Wozniacki, who should have little trouble advancing from that half.

Matchups:
-Serena vs Pennetta
-Azarenka vs Makarova
-Peng vs Bencic
-Woznaicki vs Errani