Dominic Thiem has an opportunity to solidify his candidacy to be the favorite in the 2020 U.S. Open men's draw Wednesday night. 

The Austrian was the highest-seeded player to advance to the quarterfinals, and he is one of two players in the final eight with experience from a Grand Slam final. 

Thiem advanced to the final at the other hard-court major, the Australian Open, and has looked comfortable on the surface in New York through four rounds. 

The No. 2 seed's next challenge comes from Alex de Minaur, who is making his first appearance in a Grand Slam quarterfinal.

Wednesday night's women's quarterfinal match carries a wealth of Grand Slam experience.

Elise Mertens is in the U.S. Open final eight for the second straight year, but her three Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances pale in comparison to Victoria Azarenka's resume that includes two Australian Open titles.

U.S. Open Wednesday Night Schedule

Start Time: 7 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN2

Live Stream: ESPN.com or ESPN app

Picks

No. 2 Dominic Thiem over No. 21 Alex de Minaur

Thiem is expected to make quick work of De Minaur, just like most of his opponents in New York.

The No. 2 seed lost a single set in the first four rounds and outclassed Felix Auger-Aliassime Monday in straight sets. 

The Austrian should not be affected by the magnitude of the match or the pressure of being one of the favorites to win it all with Novak Djokovic out of the tournament. 

If he remains confident on court, Thiem could put in a much better showing than Alexander Zverev, who looked shaky in his four-set win Tuesday. 

Despite producing three aces and one more unforced error than winners, Thiem controlled the majority of the important stat categories against Auger-Aliassime.

Thiem won 74 percent of the points on first serve, 69 percent on second serve and earned 14 break-point opportunities against his Canadian foe. He earned breaks on six of those points. 

De Minaur has not been as dominant and has spent much more time on court than his quarterfinal opponent. 

The Australian needed four sets to get past Richard Gasquet in the second round and came back from down two sets to one to defeat Karen Khachanov in five sets in the third round.

De Minaur was more dominant in his fourth-round meeting with Vasek Pospisil, but he had to pass the test of a first-set tiebreak before sweeping that contest. 

The weakness for the No. 21 seed could come on Thiem's serve. De Minaur won 44 percent of his receiving points against Pospisil. 

If Thiem controls his service games and picks up a key break to go ahead early, De Minaur may not have a path back to victory.

Victoria Azarenka over No. 16 Elise Mertens

Azarenka enters Wednesday night in some of the best form of the women left playing in New York.

The two-time Grand Slam winner made it to the final of the Western & Southern Open. She won the final in a walkover as Naomi Osaka was dealing with a minor injury.

Azarenka breezed through her first three matches in straight sets, including a dominant outing against No. 5 Aryna Sabalenka in which she lost four games. 

Mertens controlled her fourth-round match with No. 2 seed Sofia Kenin, but she experienced some struggles to reach that point. 

The No. 16 seed was forced to win a set 7-5 in the second and third rounds because of lackluster play. The good news for Mertens is she found a way to recover and displayed excellence in her win over Kenin.

Both players served fairly well in their last match. Azarenka put 68 percent of her first serves in play and converted 63 percent of those serves into points. Mertens won 75 percent of her first-serve points. 

Since the two women are coming off impressive wins, Wednesday's match has a chance to go three sets. 

There is one advantage Azarenka can exploit that could give her the edge over Mertens, and that is at the start of sets. 

In the third round, Mertens put 51 percent of her first serves in play and lost 10 of her 18 second-serve points against Catherine McNally.

If Azarenka can jump on Mertens' serve early, the unseeded player may create enough of an advantage to secure a berth in the final four.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90

Statistics obtained from USOpen.org