US Open: Daniil Medvedev books Rd-4 spot; Minaur eliminates Evans, Sinner beats O’Connell

New York: No. 5 seed Russian Daniil Medvedev managed to stop the flow of former US Open champions eliminations after beating Flavio Cobolli, the No. 31 seed, to enter the fourth round of the hard court major.

Medvedev disoatched young Italian Cobolli 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in two hours, 18 minutes to set a fourth-round showdown with Portugal’s Nuno Borges, who beat Jakub Mensik in their five-set Round 3 contest—which kept the Portuguese player on court for nearly four hours.

After chaotic exits of former champions Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, the 2021 US Open winner Medvedev is now the only former champion in the men’s singles left at the season’s last major at the Flushing Meadows.

No. 10 seed Australia Alex de Minaur hit 56 winners and used his excellent court speed to get past unseeded Daniel Evans of Britain, 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-0, 6-0, in two hours and 48 minutes to advance to Round 4 of the US Open.

This is his Round 4 of the US Open for the second straight year. His best result at the Flushing Meadows was a quarterfinal finish in 2020.

With his Round 3 victory this evening, de Minaur became the first Australian man in 20 years to reach the fourth round in each of the Grand Slam tournaments in the same year.

The 25-year-old de Minaur joined a list of distinguished Australians which includes Tennis Hall of Famers: Lleyton Hewitt (2004), John Newcombe (1969), Roy Emerson (1969), Tony Roche (1969), Rod Laver (1969) and Fred Stolle (1969).

Next up for de Minaur, who reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon earlier this year, will be a Round 4 match against fellow Aussie Jordan Thompson. He leads Thompson 4-1 in career head-to-head meetings. In their most recent match, de Minaur defeated Thompson, 6-2, 6-3, in the Miami second round in 2022.

In other mega action, World No.1 Sinner defeated the world No. 87 O’Connell, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2, hitting 15 aces and converting five break points throughout the match to reach the fourth round.

The reigning Australian Open champion Sinner wrapped up his 51st victory of the season in one hour and 53 minutes. He will face 14th seed Tommy Paul for a place in the quarterfinals.

Jack Draper, the British number one, also advanced to the fourth round of the US Open with a commanding 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Botic van de Zandschulp. The win matched Draper’s best Grand Slam performance, and he will face Czech player Tomas Machac in the next round.

Draper, who is seeded 25th, will face Tomas Machac, ranked 39th in the world, for a spot in the quarterfinals. Machac leads Draper 1-0 in their ATP Head-to-Head, with the Czech defeating Draper 7-6(6), 6-1 at this year’s Gonet Geneva Open.

With a shoulder injury that hindered his play and kept him out of the grass-court season, including Wimbledon, Draper’s run to the fourth round is especially noteworthy in light of his difficult 2023 campaign. IANS

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