Tennis-South African Anderson sets sights on another big scalp

NEW YORK, Sept 8 (Reuters) - South African 15th seed Kevin Anderson aims to keep his giant-killing run alive at the U.S. Open when he takes on fifth seed Stan Wawrinka in quarter-final action on Wednesday. Anderson upset Briton Andy Murray in four sets in the fourth round on Monday to get to the quarter-finals of a grand slam for the first time in his career. And he might be even more confident against French Open champion Wawrinka, having won four straight matches against the Swiss player, including their most recent encounter on the grass at Queen's in June. Anderson is vying to be the first South African semi-finalist at the U.S. Open since Johan Kriek in 1980. The winner will likely get a semi-final shot at Roger Federer, though the five-times U.S. Open champion faces a dangerous quarter-final opponent in Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the feature match of the evening session at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Federer leads their head-to-head encounters 14-2 and has never lost on hardcourt, but Gasquet has been impressive throughout at Flushing Meadows. In women's quarter-final action, second seed Simona Halep of Romania faces a danger match against 20th seed Belarusian Victoria Azarenka. Through to her first U.S. Open quarter-final, Halep finds herself pitted against two-time major winner and former world number one Azarenka, who has won their previous two encounters. Fifth seed Petra Kvitova looks to reach her first U.S. Open semi, but she must find a way past Italy's Flavia Pennetta, a 2013 U.S. Open semi-finalist. Kvitova and Pennetta have split their six matches, with the Czech winning the last match in 2012 at the Olympics. (Reporting by Ben Everill. Reporting by Andrew Both)