US Open, Day 8: Jessica Pegula carries the American hopes for the day, the world number 1 is in action

Follow live coverage of day eight of the 2024 US Open

The fourth round of the US Open will be completed on the eighth day, with the final eight players in each singles draw being determined by the end of play in New York.

World number one players Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner will play, while Jessica Pegula carries the American hopes for the day and the best match of the day will likely take place at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Here's what you should look at:

Arthur Ashe

Time Event: 12:00 p.m. ET, 9:00 a.m. PT
TV: ESPN, Tennis Channel

Diana Shnaider (18) vs. Jessica Pegula (6)

Pegula is very familiar with this stage of a Grand Slam tournament. She is also very familiar with it being the last match she wins. Pegula has a 0-6 record in Grand Slam quarterfinals, but she will be feeling pretty good about playing Russia's Shnaider considering they faced each other 6-4, 6-3 in Toronto a few weeks ago.

At least on the surface. Shnaider reliably slammed her backhand into Pegula's forehand to release her own inside-in forehand, which she curled into the corner like all the best left-handers do. The American was able to fight for a result, as she often does, and coped better with the windy conditions in Canada, but Shnaider is one of the most dangerous players in the field. She will not be easy to beat.

Nuno Borges vs Daniil Medvedev (5)

Anyone who saves three match points in a third-round match at a Grand Slam, especially against a player as talented as Jakub Mensik, deserves flowers. Anyone who beats Alexandre Muller, Benoit Paire, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Luca van Assche and Matteo Berrettini to win a tennis title deserves them too. That's where Borges comes in – and the fact that the title in question was an ATP Challenger event, the second tier of the ATP Tour. That tour has none of the glamour of a Grand Slam, but as the win in Phoenix shows, it has plenty of good players, and wins there shouldn't be dismissed as an indicator of form. Medvedev, who had to get past Flavio Cobolli in a hectic atmosphere on Saturday night, will take no chances.

Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Liudmila Samsonova (16)

Samsonova is 3-0 down against Swiatek, with two of those losses coming on hard courts. Aside from singles matches, however, every player who isn't Jelena Ostapenko or Elena Rybakina is behind Swiatek or has come within eye-level of her opponent, so Samsonova can't get lost in the past. The Russian's ball-striking has the depth and ferocity to trouble Swiatek, and Samsonova also possesses the element of surprise – sometimes winning points out of nowhere – that can sometimes send the world No. 1 into a tailspin. Course corrections under pressure have been a problem for Swiatek in many of her recent losses, so Samsonova will feel she has a chance if she can get off to a quick start.

Jannik Sinner (1) vs. Tommy Paul (14)

Paul would be the first to admit that if his match against Sinner plays like he did against Gabriel Diallo, the 6'0″ Canadian who won five matches just to play him, it will shatter the record for the shortest match ever. There was something in the air with Louis Armstrong, both players making errors without restraint and Paul's slaloming, darting tennis losing its balance. The American was able to recover, but Sinner doesn't really let his opponents do that when they're behind. The American's fast game could play into Sinner's hands on the “bang-bang” baseline shots that Paul says he tries to avoid, but if he can buy time at the net, it could get interesting.

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Louis Armstrong

Time Event: 11am ET, 8am PT
TV: ESPN, Tennis Channel

Karolina Muchova vs. Jasmine Paolini (5)

Tennis fans, take note: This match could be spectacular. The story of Paolini, a player who spent most of her career in the wilderness of the WTA Tour, and a sudden rise to two Grand Slam finals that has been built on learning to play in a way that makes her small size a part of her game, not a burden. The story of Muchova, a beaten semifinalist last year who came back from wrist surgery to knock off another returning superstar, Naomi Osaka, in the second-round match that brought the tournament to life. That's a lot of story, and it's not even the best part. These two play beautiful, textured tennis that spreads to all parts of the court as easily as water.

Karolina Muchova's return to tennis is another milestone on the WTA Tour. (Luke Hales / Getty Images)

Jack Draper (25) against Tomas Machac

Two of the most efficient players in the men's tournament, and one of them will ruin his record – and leave the tournament. Draper, as comfortable in New York as he was last year, has finally come to terms with his 6'4″ frame and is trying to become the aggressive all-around player he needs to be to cause problems for the sport's best. Machac, Olympic mixed doubles champion and conqueror of Draper and Novak Djokovic in Geneva earlier this year, has been threatening a Grand Slam breakthrough for some time. At an open tournament, her quarters are widest. Opportunity awaits.

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Caroline Wozniacki vs. Beatriz Haddad Maia (22)

Haddad Maia deserves the moment of distinction she should have earned through a difficult court – an in-form Elina Avanesyan, the ever-awkward Sara Sorribes Tormo, the dangerous Anna Kalinskaya. She will hope this moment replaces her most remarkable yet. During a point against Kalinskaya, she managed a double rebound but slammed the ball into the ground. Video review disallowed Kalinskaya the point she had earned 2-0 in the first set and she faded. Wozniacki has taken full advantage of the opportunity presented by Elena Rybakina's withdrawal from this quarter and loves playing in New York. Could she make it to the quarterfinals for the first time in eight years?

Alex de Minaur (10) against Jordan Thompson

De Minaur was one point away from reaching the quarter-finals at Wimbledon against Novak Djokovic when something went wrong. As he slipped into a forehand against Arthur Fils, he heard and felt a pop in his right hip. He lost the point. He played on. Two points later, he won the match with a beautifully cushioned volley that landed on the grass. He stumbled out of the landing and looked up at his box. He knew it.

De Minaur, whose foot speed, ball retrieval and newfound aggressiveness would have been a tough test for Djokovic's recovery from knee surgery, withdrew on the morning of the match. He is now back in the final stages of a Grand Slam a little earlier than expected, against fellow Australian Thompson, who suffered a different kind of pain at Wimbledon. Along with another Australian, Max Purcell, Thompson reached the men's doubles final, where they gave up three match points against Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara. Emphasis on gave up. Two players seeking some kind of redemption.

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(Top photo: Robert Prange / Getty Images)