As an Aussie hopeful tumbled out of Flushing Meadows, there was a massive upset on the women's side as five Americans were in action on another eventful day at the US Open.
Men's Singles Results: [20] Frances Tiafoe def. [28] Alexei Popyrin 6-4, 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-3
[4] Alexander Zverev def. Brandon Nakashima 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2
[9] Grigor Dimitrov def. [6] Andrey Rublev 6-3, 7-6(3), 1-6, 3-6, 6-3
[12] Taylor Fritz def. [8] Casper Ruud 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2
After stepping out onto Arthur Ashe Stadium for the first time in his career against Novak Djokovic, Australia's Alexei Popyrin fell agonisingly short of replicating his heroics during primetime against hometown favourite Frances Tiafoe.
Popyrin looked sharp early on serve, conceding six points in his first four service games before throwing in a loose game at 4-4 to hand the opening set to the American.
Another tight set materialised, but Popyrin would rue a costly mishap as he failed to level the match, unable to convert with a 5-3 40-0 advantage on his strings, paving the way for the 25-year-old to go down in a tiebreak.
Despite a late surge from the Aussie to peg back one set, it was always going to be a mountain to climb. Popyrin had a chance to whip a passing shot past Tiafoe for the break back late in the fourth set, but the 2022 semi-finalist held his nerve and closed it out in four gripping sets.
Could this be Grigor Dimitrov's time to win his maiden Slam?
The 33-year-old has played himself into career-best form in the past 24 months, fending off a resurgent Andrey Rublev as the 2017 ATP Nitto Finals champion won an enthralling five-set contest earlier in the day - setting up a date with Tiafoe in the quarters.
Asked about his recent resurgence in the post-match press conference, Dimitrov said: "I just keep on playing. The body is holding up and the game I think is improving. I still feel like that. There's quite a bit more to squeeze out of myself in order to maybe not only play better, but win bigger events and keep the dream alive.”
Rublev, who has expressed multiple outbursts during 2024, required a medical timeout after cutting himself while banging his hand against his racquet strings.
In 2020, fourth seed Alexander Zverev was two sets up in the US Open final before enduring a capitulation, but with the absence of Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, the German has every chance to go all the way after a four-set victory against America's Brandon Nakashima.
The 27-year-old had to rally from a set down just as he did in the previous round to escape unscathed.
Still yet to feature on Arthur Ashe Stadium this tournament, Taylor Fritz delighted the home crowd with his own come-from-behind triumph against former US Open finalist Casper Ruud, where he will now face Zverev in the last eight.
Women's Singles Results:
[2] Aryna Sabalenka def. Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-4
[13] Emma Navarro def. [3] Coco Gauff 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
[26] Paula Badosa def. Yafan Wang 6-1, 6-2
[7] Qinwen Zheng def. [24] Donna Vekić 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-2
Reigning US Open winner Coco Gauff has again found herself on the losing end at a Grand Slam against American compatriot Emma Navarro.
The pair met at Wimbledon two months ago as Navarro caused the upset in straight sets. This time, a three-set tussle was required before sending Gauff packing.
That result will provide world No.2 Aryna Sabalenka a confidence boost on her side of the draw, comfortably dismantling doubles specialist Elise Mertens without being broken.
It has been a challenging year for former world No.2 Paula Badosa due to injury setbacks, but the Spaniard is a real contender in New York after sweeping aside Yafan Wang in one hour and 23 minutes under a closed roof.
Elsewhere, the latest finish to a women's match in US Open history played out in a gold medal rematch between Qinwen Zheng and Donna Vekić, finishing at 2:15am local time.
Arguably the match of the tournament in terms of quality and intensity, Zheng's 81 per cent of points won on first serve proved pivotal to ensure a sequel of the Australian Open final against Sabalenka in the quarter-finals.
"She’s really tough to play on a hard court, she put a lot of pressure on me," the former Australian Open finalist admitted. "At Roland Garros, I was in control. Today she hit really aggressive. It was tough for me to play against her."
Aussie Men's Doubles Results:
[7] Max Purcell/Jordan Thompson def. Nuno Borges/Francisco Cabral 7-6(3), 6-3
[16] Andrés Molteni/Maximo Gonzalez def. [2] Matt Ebden/Rohan Bopanna 6-1, 7-5
There was some good news for Australian tennis thanks to the doubles partnership of seventh seeds Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson, moving onto the quarter-finals as they are now handed the assignment of taking down the top seeds in Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.
Aussie Mixed Doubles Results:
Ellen Perez/Sander Gillé def. Ashlyn Krueger/Thai-Son Kwiatkowski 6-4, 6-7(4), 10-3
A nervy 10-point decider in the third set did not derail Aussie Ellen Perez and partner Sander Gillé to keep their mixed doubles aspirations alive at Flushing Meadows, securing a quarter-final ticket.
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