TWO players will reach their first Grand Slam quarter finals, another his first US Open quarter final, and a fourth making it through in the most unexpected way. That was what the wash up of day seven at the US Open was like for those who witnessed the Flushing Meadows online.

Denis Shapovalov and Borna Coric had never reached a Grand Slam quarter finals before, but are through to the last eight after impressive wins, whilst the top ranked remaining player in the top half – Alexander Zverev – became the first German in 13 years to reach a US Open quarter final. The world number seven is the highest ranked remaining player in the top half after the stunning default of top seed and tournament favourite, Novak Djokovic which gave safe passage for 20th seed Pablo Carreno Busta to move through to the last eight as well.

Shapovalov reached his first ever Grand Slam quarter final following a four-set victory over seventh seed, David Goffin. Coming from a set down and not winning a point in the first set tiebreaker, the Canadian talent won the last three sets, 6-7 6-3 6-4 6-3 to book a spot in the next round.

“It’s a really proud moment,” Shapovalov said post-match. “It’s crazy how far I’ve come. “I knew it was going be tough against David and I’d have to play every single point against him… I’m definitely tired, but super happy.”

Not only did Shapovalov reach his own personal best at a Grand Slam, but became the first Canadian man to reach the US Open quarter finals in the Open era. Scheduling helped him achieve that feat, with fellow Canadians, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Vasek Pospisil both playing in fourth round matches tomorrow. Now the up and comer will face Carreno Busta in the quarter finals.

“He’s a super tough player, similar to David,” Shapovalov said. “It’s going to be a very tough match. “I have doubles tomorrow [and] I’ll try to recover as quick as possible.”

Coric reached his first quarter finals with a straight sets win over Australian Jordan Thompson – who also was yet to reach a major quarter finals – 7-5 6-1 6-3 backing up from his upset victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Round of 32.

“I started the match very good,” Coric said post-match. “From 5-3 [in the first set], I maybe choked a little bit, but that’s normal. This is the biggest chance in my career to get to the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam. “I was more relaxed after the first set and started to play much better.”

Now the Croatian sets his sights on Zverev in what will be another huge test against his second top 10 opponent this tournament.

“I was watching all of his matches [this week] and I thought he was playing some of his best tennis,” Coric said. “It’s going to be a very interesting match.”

In the final fully completed match of the day, Zverev defeated Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-2 6-2 6-1. The fifth seed looked like he had somewhere to be, smashing 38 winners in just an hour and 34 minutes to skip past the world number 99 and become the first German since Tommy Haas to reach a final eight at Flushing Meadows. The win was impressive although the German said he could tell his opponent was starting to hurt late in the game.

“In the third set, I saw that he slowed down a little bit, especially on his serve,” Zverev said post-match. “He couldn’t push off that leg any more, but I think the first two sets were pretty good quality by me to be honest. “There are still things to work on, but I am in the quarter-finals and that can only be a good thing.”

The other quarter finalists will be determined tomorrow with second seed Dominic Thiem taking on Auger-Aliassime for the right to face the winner of Pospisil and Australian Alex de Minaur. In the other quarter, third seed Daniil Medvedev tackles Frances Tiafoe, while top 10 seeds, Matteo Berrettini and Andrey Rublev lock horns in the match of the day.