And that's it. Blockx has called it quits midway through the third set, and Khachanov goes through to the semi-finals."Blockx has nothing left," Nick Lester said in commentary as the two players shook hands.Robbie Koenig said tennis fans will no doubt see more of Blockx in the next few years.“He’s had some great wins, played some mesmerising tennis, especially against (Flavio) Cobolli,” he said in commentary.“We are going to see a lot more of this young man in the years to come – fingers crossed that he can stay healthy for long periods of time."He's got such an exciting game, he's got such a great attitude out on the court and he's got a big time mentality."Jelena Dokic has just given some high praise for the battling Blockx.His box is starting to look worried, and the discussion is now whether he’s risking worsening the injury by continuing.He’s only 21, he’s making his main-draw US Open debut, and he’s made it to the quarterfinals. It’s understandable that he wants to keep pushing, and it’s not like he’s hobbling around the court allowing Khachanov free points."We can see what a great competitor he is … I give him so much credit for (continuing) competing because he doesn't want to retire and he wants to stay out here on the court and finish the match," she said for Nine."But then if you've got this many injuries and depending on also what they are, especially the rib as well … you've got to think, 'can I do more damage here as well?'“He’s showing incredible competitive spirit. This also actually sends a big message to the locker room as well – everyone is always watching."He's going to stay out there, that he's a great competitor. He's just 21! To stay out here and keep playing is an incredible effort."It's 1-1 in the third set.Karen Khachanov is closing in on the last four – he’s just taken the second set against Alexander Blockx.The Belgian is clearly struggling with injury, though. I mentioned the blisters earlier, but he also just had a little bit of work done at change of ends on his back.He also reportedly came into this match with a rib injury."It's looking ominous for the Belgian on his US Open debut. It's been a memorable, but the clock is ticking," Nick Lester said in commentary.He took another medical timeout for more work on his back between sets.New USTA chief executive Craig Tiley has pledged a scheduling review after the latest-ever US Open finish.On Wednesday (AEST), the men's quarterfinal between Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton did not get on court until after 11pm local time. Shelton sent down the winning ace at 3.33am.Tiley – who took over the role after a lengthy stint in the same position with Tennis Australia and the US Open – pointed out all four matches in the day went the full distance, with three of the four going to a 10-point deciding tiebreaker."If you look back at schedules, you don't get that ever. So that was particularly special," he told Stan Sports.“The stadium was full. Everyone was loving it. We had people watching from all around the world. It was a great time for many people – not necessarily for everyone having to stay up here late and watch it – but it’s just one of those things."One thing we always do at the end of every event, we have a look and see what's worked best. Scheduling is also on that list. We'll always look at our options."In the day session, Aryna Sabalenka beat Linda Noskova 7-6 (1), 3-6, 7-6 (10-7) in 2hrs 22min, before Frances Tiafoe beat Alex Michelsen 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (10-6) in 4hrs 39mins.That meant the night session started close to two hours late. When it finally did, Jess Pegula needed 2hrs 21minutes to get past Emma Navarro 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 before the Shelton-Alcaraz epic ended in the American's favour 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) in 4hrs 28mins.Coco Gauff said she funnelled her inner Frances Tiafoe as she fought back to beat Mirra Andreeva.She lost the first set and faced match points in the second set tiebreaker before fighting back to win in three.Against Alex Michelsen on Wednesday (AEST), Tiafoe was two sets down with Michelsen serving for the match before somehow fighting back to win.Both players thanked the packed Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd for pulling them to victory."I came out not feeling the ball, giving her too many free points, and Mirra is playing at a great level," she said in her courtside interview."To be honest I was thinking about Frances Tiafoe and how he came back yesterday. We all want to do well in front of this crowd.“I was just trying to leave this court with no regrets, I didn’t know how the outcome would go, but really, really thank you to you guys. You really pulled me through.”She will play newly-crowned world No.1 Elena Rybakina on Friday (AEST) in the semifinals.The WTA Tour has a new world No.1!Aryna Sabalenka held the title for an astonishing 99 weeks... wow!Since Ash Barty suddenly retired in 2022, only Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek have been women’s No.1.But as of this morning, Elena Rybakina will become the new No.1 when rankings are updated on Monday.She beat Qinwen Zheng in three sets this morning to secure the top spot and knock Sabalenka off, despite the latter still being in the tournament.“It’s just a number right now and of course I’m in the semis so my goal is to win the tournament,” Rybakina said.“It’s an amazing achievement but you know how quick everything can change in tennis, ranking-wise, during the match, so I feel like I just need to focus on my game, try to recover and enjoy tomorrow.”
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