(Reuters) -Jannik Sinner avoided the fate of his top rivals, reaching the fourth round of the U.S. Open while fellow top seed Iga Swiatek gained momentum in her quest for a sixth Grand Slam title after a pep talk from Serena Williams on Saturday.
With defending champion Novak Djokovic forced out by a shock loss to Alexei Popyrin in the third round on Friday and another title contender, Carlos Alcaraz, sent crashing by Botic van de Zandschulp in round two a day earlier, all eyes were on Sinner.
The Italian, who has managed the intense scrutiny following a doping controversy in the build-up to the tournament, thumped Christopher O’Connell 6-1 6-4 6-2 to underline his credentials as the outright favourite at the year’s final major.
“This sport is unpredictable, no? Whenever you drop a little bit of your level, you know, if it’s mental, if it’s tennis-wise or physical, at the end it has a huge impact on the result,” Sinner said about the exits of Djokovic and Alcaraz.
“Both opponents who they lost against played incredible tennis. And it happens.
“So I just watch on my side what I have to do, you know, that I guess I’ve done, and then we’ll see what I can do.”
Up next for the Australian Open champion is Tommy Paul, who is among a group of players keen to end a 21-year American wait for a homegrown major winner, since Andy Roddick claimed the title in New York.
Paul, the 14th seed, recovered from a first-set wobble to overcome Canadian Gabriel Diallo 6-7(5) 6-3 6-1 7-6(3) and hoped to counter Sinner’s “bang-bang tennis” when they clash.
“He’s probably the best ball striker on tour and I’m not,” Paul said. “I don’t want to go toe to toe just banging on the baseline with him. I want to try and mix things up.”
Paul’s compatriot and sixth seed Jessica Pegula advanced in the women’s draw with a 6-3 6-3 win over Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, but Ashlyn Krueger fell 6-1 6-1 to Liudmila Samsonova.
‘Positive energy’
French Open champion Swiatek later swatted aside Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4 6-2 with a near-flawless performance after a chat with 23-times major winner Williams, who returned to the U.S. Open as a fan having stepped away from tennis in 2022.
“It was really nice to see her. She has a lot of positive energy. It’s nice that she came onsite and she was chatting with the players,” a star-struck Swiatek said.
“It was nice that she approach me, because I wouldn’t, for sure, find the courage to do that if it was the other way round. But, yeah, she’s really nice and really positive.
“I’m happy she’s following tennis and my game, because she told me she’s cheering for me.”
Roland Garros and Wimbledon runner-up Jasmine Paolini beat Yulia Putintseva 6-3 6-4 as the diminutive Italian continued to fly under the radar, but she could face a big hurdle with Czech Karolina Muchova up next.
Muchova, who is rediscovering her best form after 10 months out with a wrist injury, outclassed Anastasia Potapova 6-4 6-2.
Australian Alex de Minaur’s injury problems are more recent, but the 10th seed shrugged off a frustrating hip issue that has dogged him since Wimbledon to outlast Briton Dan Evans 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-0 6-0.
Evans beat Karen Khachanov in the longest U.S. Open match of the professional era on Tuesday at five hours and 35 minutes but finally ran out of gas.
Caroline Wozniacki showed she had plenty left in the tank since her comeback in 2023 after a three-year break following the births of her two children as the 34-year-old Dane eased past Jessika Ponchet 6-3 6-2.
Briton Jack Draper, who is carrying the torch for his nation following the retirement of Andy Murray this summer, beat Van de Zandschulp 6-3 6-4 6-2.
Daniil Medvedev, the only former New York champion left in the men’s draw, breezed past Flavio Cobolli 6-3 6-4 6-3 and set his sights on going all the way, as he did in 2021.
“It’s the only Grand Slam where I have that chance,” fifth seed Medvedev said.
“I for sure didn’t expect to have this in the fourth round when Novak and Carlos are here. It’s a fun feeling from one side but from the other side it’s a new tournament.
“I need to play my best to try to win it again.”
