Unseeded American Ben Shelton took down 14th-seeded compatriot Tommy Paul in four sets on Sunday to reach his second Grand Slam quarter-final of the year at the US Open.
The 20-year-old Shelton avenged his loss to Paul in the last eight of the Australian Open, winning 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to become the youngest American to reach the men’s quarter-finals in New York since Andy Roddick in 2002.
The world number 47 plays the winner between 10th seed Frances Tiafoe and Australian wild card Rinky Hijikata for a place in the semi-finals.
Daniil Medvedev progressed to the fourth round of the US Open with a 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) victory over Sebastian Baez which snapped the Argentine’s 12-match winning streak.
Third seed and 2021 champion Medvedev is through to the second week in New York for the fifth year in a row and will play Australian 13th seed Alex de Minaur for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Medvedev closed out the victory with an ace on his fourth match point in the tie-break as he finished well past 1am for the second straight match.
“I just want to go to sleep, that’s it. Nothing more,” said Medvedev.
“When you go to play at 11pm it just feels tough. This time I decided not to sleep before and I ate, so I was feeling pretty bad on the court. That’s why I was nervous all the match.”
World number 32 Baez came into the US Open bristling with confidence after titles at Kitzbuehel and Winston-Salem, reaching the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time here.
However hard-court specialist Medvedev - winner of four titles on the surface this season -started quickly and rarely looked in trouble as he took the first two sets with minimal fuss.
Baez refused to meekly accept his fate and threatened to force a fourth set. He led 5-2 only for Medvedev to break back and then save a set point on serve, the Russian finally getting through in the tie-break in the early hours of Sunday morning.
“It was lucky and good play from me to stay in third set, and good not to finish at 4am.”
In other action sixth seed Jannik Sinner took down 2017 US Open champion Stan Wawrinka 6-3 2-6 6-4 6-2 to set up an intriguing fourth round meeting with 12th seeded German Alexander Zverev, who was a 6-7(2) 7-6(8) 6-1 6-1 winner over Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov. Earlier, Ons Jabeur kept her dream of a first Grand Slam alive at the US Open, reaching the last 16 after finally overcoming injured opponent Marie Bouzkova in three sets.
Tunisian fifth seed Jabeur, whose own US Open campaign has been disrupted by a flu virus, completed a 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 victory to subdue Bouzkova in 2hr 56min.
A contest of high drama on the Arthur Ashe Stadium saw Bouzkova play virtually half of the match on one leg after suffering a thigh injury midway through the second set. The 25-year-old Czech 31st seed left the court for a lengthy medical timeout after clutching her thigh in pain.
She appeared to be close to tears when she returned, but somehow managed to battle bravely on despite severely limited mobility.
Bouzkova was often seen grimacing and wincing in pain whenever she needed to push off her injured leg, but remarkably continued to complete the match.
At one point she consulted her coaching staff in the stands and said simply: “I have to.”
“Man it was a very tough match,” Jabeur said afterwards. “We both played really well. She didn’t want to stop. She’s a great player.
“This is a tough sport. You always don’t want to give up. I really respect her for that. I think we both had a great battle tonight, and hopefully I’ll continue getting this ‘warrior’ symbol with me during this great tournament.”
Jabeur admitted she had been incredulous at times as Bouzkova soldiered on despite her injury.
“When I saw her struggling with her leg I tried to make her move as much as I can,” Jabeur said. “I know that’s not nice but I was trying to win the match.
“At certain times I was like ‘Is she really injured?’ I wasn’t sure.”
Jabeur, who also needed three sets in round two after a difficult opening match earlier this week, once again found herself in trouble early on against Bouzkova.
But the injury changed the complexion of the match, even though the ailing Bouzkova took her to a tie-break in the second set.
Jabeur grabbed an early break in the final set, and then served for the match in the ninth game.
There was another twist as Bouzkova saved two match points after trailing 15-40, but Jabeur finally clinched victory on her third match point.
Jabeur, who will now face China’s Zheng Qinwen in the last 16 on Monday, said her punishing training regimen in Tunisia had helped prepare her for the demands of the tournament.
“It was super hot in Tunisia, super humid,” Jabeur said. “Honestly, I was fighting to just finish the practice. It would have been much easier to stop the practice, but we didn’t.
“I was really fighting on those practices the same as during those matches.”
Karolina Muchova also became the first woman into the quarter-finals, downing China’s Wang Xinyu in three sets to advance to the last eight. The 10th-seeded Czech, beaten in the final of this year’s French Open, overcame an error-strewn performance to win 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 in 2hr 34min on the Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The 27-year-old right-hander will face either Sorana Cirstea, the 30th seed from Romania or 15th-seeded Belinda Bencic of Switzerland in the last eight.
Wang had been bidding to reach the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time after an impressive run to the last 16 in New York.
The 21-year-old from Shenzhen fought back to level after taking the second set, but wilted in the decider as Muchova broke twice to take a grip on the match before holding to clinch victory.