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Day ten at the US Open has four singles quarter-finals to offer, which feature eight men and women desperate to throw their names into the hat for this year's honour roll. Along with a few doubles matches featuring the top teams; five time winner Roger Federer, former Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, Wimbledon runner-up Vera Zvonareva and top seed Caroline Wozniacki are the superstars who will be in action hoping to keep their title hopes alive.

The match of the day comes from the stable of Roger Federer and Robin Soderling. This is their fifteenth meeting with Federer reeling of twelve straight wins from 2004 through to 2009. It was only after a dozen loses that Soderling turn things around with two wins on the trot, one of which came at the French Open this year. It is meaningless to analyze the games here because both players have seen each other across the net too many times. Federer has seen the transformation of Soderling from a caterpillar with potential to a butterfly who actually can execute, and Soderling has felt the wrath of a legend before fighting back when his time came.

This is arguably the "Sharapova vs Woznizacki" match of the men's draw. It is cruel that these two men meet before the semi-finals, but with one place reserved for these two, our pick will be sentimental. Federer is showing sublime touch, which is not uncommon for him, but given the year he has had it is refreshing. Soderling has not had the best summer while Federer has seen his best two weeks since the Australian Open ended. If Soderling can serve well, and be aggressive with pin point accuracy he could do some damage but with the New York hard courts suiting Federer's game much better, it seems unlikely that the Swede will be able to upset the apple cart.

The other men's quarter-final sees a revitalized Frenchman Gael Monfils plays third seed Novak Djokovic for a place in the semi finals. Monfils is coming off a credible win over compatriot Richard Gasquet which will give him confidence. Yet is it difficult to assume he will be able to rattle Djokovic, who scored a straight sets win over the red hot player of the summer Mardy Fish. Djokovic is slowly proving to be the underdog of the tournament. Everybody seems to be so involved with the progress of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer and the demise of Andy Murray, that Djokovic has been able to slip under the radar. Djokovic has a 4-0 head-to-head record against Monfils, and our money would be on him making it five wins out of five.

Thirty-first seed Kaia Kanepi plays seventh seed Vera Zvonareva in the first of the women's quarter finals, which also happens to be their first meeting on the Tour. Kanepi scored an astonishing comeback in the fourth round to defeat fifteenth seed Yanina Wickmayer, and will be confident she can pull off another upset. Zvonareva has had a comfortable tournament with handsome victories which prove her title credentials. If Zvonareva can keep her concentration on and her nerves under check she should be the favourite. With a final at Wimbledon already under her belt she brings in more big game experience and has vastly improved her net play adding a whole new dimension to her game. The match could go the distance and if it does; it will be Kanepi's third three setter in the tournament which means the wheels may just come off this time.

The second quarter final features top seed and last year's losing finalist Caroline Wozniacki against surprise quarter finalist Dominika Cibulkova. The Dane showed her class in her straight sets win over Maria Sharapova in the last round. It was a tight match, yet she mixed it up all the way and closed the match with confidence. Her legs are working well and her movement around the court has been nothing short of spectacular. Cibulkova on the other hand has out done herself in this tournament. She is playing above her level and outdoes her 5'3 frame with resilience. Though Cibulkova's chances cannot be discounted it is difficult to get past the top seed who is seeing the best form of her life. Wozniacki has beaten Cibulkova twice this year in straight sets, including at New Haven barely two weeks ago, and the trend can be expected to continue.

There are some interesting doubles matches on offer too as Lisa Raymond of USA and Rennae Stubbs of Australia, the fifth seeds, play the second seeded pair of Liezel Huber of USA and Nadia Petrova of Russia for a place in the women's doubles semi finals. The Bryan Brothers are the top seeded men's pair, and they take on the all Spanish pairing of Marcel Granollers andTommy Robredo for a place in the doubles finals. The winner of this match will face the winner of the contest between the unseeded Argentine team of Eduardo Schwank and Horacio Zeballos or Rohan Bopanna of India and  Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan, the sixteenth seeds.

Wednesday's Schedule:

Arthur Ashe Stadium

Day Session
(31) Kaia Kanepi (Estonia) v (7) Vera Zvonareva (Russia)
(17) Gael Monfils (France) v (3) Novak Djokovic (Serbia)

Night session
(1) Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) v Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia)
(5) Robin Soderling (Sweden) v (2) Roger Federer (Switzerland)

File Photograph Copyright: Beynaz Mistry