As Labor Day was celebrated in New York, players began earning their way into the quarterfinals at the US Open.

Serena Rolls On

Top-seed Serena Williams moved into the quarters after a 6-2, 6-3 win over Yaroslava Shvedova in just 68 minutes. With the victory, Williams won her 308th major tournament match, topping Roger Federer for first in the open era.

It was just another day at the office for the American who had a tremendous day serving. She ripped 11 aces and won all but two of her first serve points. It was also a clean performance by Williams who, despite her aggressive style, gifted just 13 unforced errors.

Williams commented on her record-setting match afterward, “Oh wow, it is really exciting, this is where it all started so it is always so magical out here for me but 308 sounds pretty good.”

Serena’s serve has been exceptional as she has only faced one break point thus far in the tournament. “I really can’t believe it,” she said. “I’ve never really served this consistently.”

Murray Dismantles Dimitrov

In a match where Andy Murray performed at an exceptional level, while Grigor Dimitrov struggled, the two-seed rolled to a 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 win.

In the first set, Andy Murray quickly took advantage of a nervous looking start by Dimitrov. While the Bulgarian searched for rhythm, the Scot could do little wrong and the first set was over before many had entered Arthur Ashe Stadium for the night session.

After the dismal first set by Dimitrov, the New York crowd began to get behind the 25-year old. But there was little he could do as Murray consistently controlled play and struck winners from every position on the court. He was a surgeon on the court with precision accuracy for most of the match.

“Tactically I played a good match,” Murray said. “I served very well when I got behind, very few unforced errors. I enjoy it in here, fantastic atmosphere.”

Murray broke serve 7 times and benefited from 43 unforced errors from Dimitrov who could only strike 13 winners in the match.

Halep Through in Straight Sets

5th seeded Simona Halep advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Carla Suarez Navarro in Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Halep was steady in the first set moving Suarez Navarro from side to side from her baseline position. Despite a late rally by the Spaniard, Halep closed it out without incident.

It looked to be more of the same in the second set as the Romanian quickly broke serve. But Suarez Navarro ground her way back and evened the set as frustration began to show in Halep’s game. But the world no. 5 quickly regained her composure, breaking to gain a 4-3 edge.  However, it was temporary as Halep’s frustration surfaced again as she served for the match. After losing the first point, she threw her racket in disgust and promptly lost the game to Suarez Navarro.

Perhaps using her frustration to fuel her aggression, Halep promptly broke Suarez Navarro’s serve again. And this time, serving at 6-5, she closed out the set and the match.

“I’m really happy I could win this match. It’s really tough to beat her. I just gave everything I had,” Halep said. She will face Serena in a quarterfinal match on Wednesday.

Del Potro Moves On

Juan Martin Del Potro’s sensational comeback continued as he moved past 8th seeded Domenic Thiem 6-3, 3-2, retired.

In the first set, the powerful Argentine inflicted damage on Thiem from his forehand wing. And despite a visit from the trainer to treat his shoulder, he closed strong to take the early advantage.

Del Potro quickly made inroads into the Austrian’s serve in the second set, continuing his momentum. Then, unfortunately for Thiem, an injured knee began to hamper the 23-year old who called for a trainer. After treatment during a changeover with Del Potro up 3-2, Thiem decided to retire.

With the victory, Del Potro moves through to the quarterfinal round where he will face Stan Wawrinka.

Del Potro continues to keep things in perspective after each victory, “I was close to retire before my third surgery but after that, I always believe in myself to come back,” he said. “When I made the decision to do the surgery, I always believed I will come back, for sure. I didn't expect to be in quarters in my second grand slam after my comeback. My level is growing up every day.

Konjuh Eliminates Radwanska

18-year old Ana Konjuh showed no fear as she defeated 4th seeded Aga Radwanska 6-4, 6-4 in the nightcap in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Konjuh showed no lack of confidence under the lights of Arthur Ashe stadium as she aggressively attacked the veteran’s serve. After coming close early, she finally broke serve and closed out the first set.

In the second set, Konjuh rode the wave of her powerful serve and strong groundstrokes, controlling the tempo and putting the solid defender at a disadvantage. Much like the first set, she broke serve to move to 5-4 and served out the match.

The teen will face Karolina Pliskova in the quarterfinals.

Wawrinka Advances

With so much discussion about Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka has flown under the radar thus far in Flushing Meadows. But he can certainly be a factor before the fortnight in New York is finished. On Monday, Wawrinka advanced past Illya Marchenko 6-4, 6-1, 6-7, 6-3 on Monday. It was a match where the 2-time major champion appeared to be in cruise control but things got complicated before he finally closed it out.

After sailing along in the first two sets, Wawrinka would serve for the match in the third set. However, the Ukrainian had other ideas as he would break the Swiss’ serve, force a tiebreak and take the set. But in the fourth set, the three-seed gained control again and this time finished out the set and match.

Wawrinka was steady from the baseline as he struck 49 winners and benefited from 52 unforced errors off of the racket of Marchenko.

He will move on to face Juan Martin Del Potro in a quarterfinal that should be a tremendous matchup. “It's going to be great to play Del Potro,” Wawrinka said. “He beat me this year at Wimbledon. He's back after so many injuries, so it's good to see him playing so well again.