US Open path blown wide open for de Minaur: 'Just let the tennis do the talking'

(Getty/Clive Brunskill)

Alex de Minaur, the last Australian player left standing in the US Open singles draw, is on course to reach his maiden Grand Slam semi-final.

The eighth seed's patience was tested in the opening set, as he failed to make inroads on German opponent Daniel Altmaier's serve, and it was the latter who converted his third set point opportunity to race out to a surprise one-set lead.

But it was all de Minaur from that moment forward, wearing down an ailing Altmaier, who was coming off a four-hour and 21-minute epic against Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The 26-year-old Aussie was in control with a 6-7(7), 6-3, 6-4, 2-0 advantage, before world No.56 Altmaier called it quits due to injury.

"Going into that match, look, I know he spent 10 hours on court. He can't hide away from that," de Minaur said. "And the fact that he's such a good competitor, he came out ready for a battle.

"That first set kind of slipped away from me, but in the back of my mind, I knew if I could make this physical, then I was probably going to be in a better shape, a little bit fresher than he was."

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The result ensures de Minaur will appear in his eighth round of 16 match in nine attempts at a Grand Slam, as he prepares to face 23-year-old Swiss qualifier Leandro Riedi.

A few hours after the completion of de Minaur's clash, world No.3 and former finalist Alexander Zverev exited in four sets to 25th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, meaning the sole Australian hopeful will face either the Canadian or Andrey Rublev if he gets past Riedi.

"He's going to be dangerous," de Minaur admitted when quizzed about his upcoming challenge. "I mean, any player that has a winning match streak, and he's come through quallies, and especially the type of player that he is, which he's a big hitter, he's going to be dangerous. He's going to try to hit the cover off the ball.

"My job is ultimately going to be [to] make his life as difficult as it can and see how that goes."

In his press conference and on-court interview, he re-emphasised the importance to "just let the tennis do the talking".

A win for 'Demon' would achieve back-to-back quarter-final appearances at a particular Grand Slam for the first time in his career.

Earlier in the day, a gallant effort from Daria Kasatkina wasn't enough to derail two-time champion Naomi Osaka, as the Aussie 15th seed lost 0-6, 6-4, 3-6.

Osaka, 27, is primed for a mouth-watering matchup against third seed and former winner Coco Gauff in the fourth round.

In the doubles, Aussie Matthew Romios and American partner Ryan Seggerman bundled out in the first round (6-7(13), 7-5, 3-6), and in the women's doubles, former No.1 Storm Hunter bowed out 1-6, 3-6 alongside Desirae Krawczyk against Russian powerhouses Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider.

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