Former tennis players John McEnroe (right) and Michael Chang talk during an exhibition game against Jim Courier and Mardy Fish at the US Open. (Reuters)

Who’s saying what
“I couldn’t fall asleep last night, so it was kind of difficult anyway. Yeah, when I heard my alarm I didn’t want to wake up. I’m kind of sleepy right now, as well.”
Petra Kvitova after her loss to Flavia Pennetta.
 
“Please try and be quiet during the serves and rallies, thank you.”
Umpire tries the polite approach rather than direct order to fans inside the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
 
“I needed a shirt change after the 5th game the other night. Don’t think Roger changed his shirt all match.”
John Isner’s tweet after Roger Federer’s no-sweat 6-3, 6-3 start in a quarter-final match against France’s Richard Gasquet
 
Sleeve it to Vika
Victoria Azarenka appeared on court for her quarter-final against Simona Halep wearing white compression sleeves on both arms. They replaced the tight bandaging around her biceps which she used to protect blistering and chafing in her previous match.
 
Senior service
Three of the four women’s semi-finalists are comfortably over 30. Serena Williams and Flavia Pennetta are 33 and Roberta Vinci is 32.
Four of the eight men’s quarter-finalists were over 30.

Anderson’s a Good Sport  
South Africa’s Kevin Anderson won the US Open Sportsmanship Award for excellence in manner during matches. “I always try my best to behave the best I can out there,” Anderson said. US Tennis Association chairman Katrina Adams called him “a tremendous role model.”
 
Numbers up
12 - The number of combined sets played in the four US Open women’s quarter-final matches, the first time since 1982 that all four women’s last-eight contests went the maximum distance.
13-0 - The number of wins-losses for Novak Djokovic in his rivalry with Marin Cilic who he meets in Friday’s semi-finals.
60 - The number of unforced errors that Petra Kvitova committed in her three-set defeat to Flavia Pennetta in the quarter-finals.