Kvitova upsets Muguruza, to meet Venus in quarters

The Czech was sidelined for five months after being stabbed in her left playing hand by an intruder at her home and although the 13th seed has gradually moved towards her best level, Muguruza was the hot favourite under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium. “I tried to work really hard to play here again. It means a lot, it’s an incredible night to play in front of a great crowd,” Kvitova said in her on-court interview. 

“I don’t think I can find the right words, it was a difficult time, all five months (away) were very tough. It was a tough journey and I didn’t know how it would end,” added Kvitova. American women continued to shine on a grey Labor Day weekend as the resurgent Venus Williams and Sloane Stephens fought their way into the quarter-finals. 

Ninth seed Williams and Stephens qualified with 6-3 3-6 6-1 wins against gritty Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro and German Julia Goerges, respectively. Both Williams and Stephens are enjoying comeback tales. 

Williams made the Australian Open and Wimbledon finals this year, her first grand slam championship matches since 2009, while Stephens is back to form after almost a year out following foot surgery. “I think that now I‘m running around and sweating, my ponytail is flying, these are all such great things,”  said Stephens.