Juan Martin del Potro continued his flawless progress through the top half of the US Open draw, claiming his third straight-sets win of the tournament on Saturday as he defeated Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in the third round. The Argentine will look to keep his run going when he faces sixth seed Dominic Thiem in the fourth round on Monday. Del Potro leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 2-0, including victory over the Austrian at this stage in New York last year, when Thiem was forced to retire. Looking ahead to the clash with Thiem, del Potro said, "He has everything to win the match. He's having a great season already. He's the favourite for the match. But...
Sharper, more confident and more consistent. It’s the report card that comes as music to Roger Federer’s ears after finding his range to cruise past Feliciano Lopez into the fourth round at this year’s US Open on Saturday. In a worrying sign for his second-week opponents, the rust from the five-time champion’s opening two matches was rarely seen in a 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 dismissal of the Spaniard. His showdown with the 35- year old was the oldest match-up at the US Open since Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl squared off in 1992. The Swiss was 15-1 in third-round US Open matches coming in, with his lone defeat coming at the hands of Lopez’s countryman Juan Carlos Ferrero on debut in...
Dominic Thiem served himself an early birthday present on Saturday at the US Open as he defeated Adrian Mannarino 7-5, 6-3, 6-4. Thiem, who will turn 24 on Sunday, is through to the fourth round at Flushing Meadows for the third time in four years. The Austrian, a two-time semi-finalist at Roland Garros, is bidding to reach the quarter-finals in New York for the first time and will face Juan Martin del Potro, whom he met at this stage last year. "I am pretty satisfied," said Thiem, who had fought past Taylor Fritz in four close sets in the second round. "It was way better than the first two rounds. I don't really like to play against him. He can...
Sealed with an ace. Sam Querrey relied on his biggest weapon to secure his place in the Round of 16 at the US Open on Friday, overcoming Radu Albot 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4. The American launched 49 winners, including 19 aces, to prevail after two hours and seven minutes. He will feature in the second week at his home Grand Slam for the first time since 2010, matching his best result. But it will not be an all-American fourth-round clash for Querrey after Mischa Zverev rounded out the day's action by toppling John Isner in the Arthur Ashe Stadium night session. Albot, who was appearing in his first Grand Slam third round, streaked to an early lead with a break...
Dutchmen Robin Haase and Matwe Middelkoop are celebrating a huge first-round boilover in the men’s doubles at the US Open after springing the upset over in-form French duo, No. 3 seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut 6-3, 6-4. Herbert and Mahut had won back-to-back ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles leading in, at the Coupe Rogers and Western & Southern Open, but were no match for the unseeded pair. There was better news for another all-French pairing, with Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin upsetting second seeds and Wimbledon champions Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo. The 2014 Roland Garros champions prevailed 6-3, 7-6(2) over the Polish-Brazilian team to reach the third round. They will face either #NextGenATP Russians Karen Khachanov and...