Defending champion Jannik Sinner say he is “not a machine” after being forced to fight from a set down in a testing encounter with Denis Shapovalov to reach the US Open fourth round.
Italy’s Sinner, a four-time Grand Slam champion, defeated Canadian 27th seed Shapovalov 5-7 6-4 6-3 6-3.
World number one Sinner had only lost 11 games across his previous two matches but produced an off-colour performance on Arthur Ashe Stadium, struggling with his serve and producing a number of uncharacteristically loose groundstrokes throughout the first three sets.
Across the match, he produced five double faults and 36 unforced errors, while his first-serve percentage was just 58%.
But after saving a break point to avoid going a double-break down in the third set, he won 12 of the next 15 games to close out the victory.
“I’m not a machine, you know. I also struggle sometimes,” said Sinner, who will play either 14th seed Tommy Paul or 23rd seed Alexander Bublik next.
“Today, I felt like I didn’t struggle. I was playing great tennis, and he also. Every match is so difficult. The scoreline was a bit against me today, but I just tried to stay there mentally.
“I’m very happy to manage to win today because it was a very important win.”
Shapovalov flew out of the blocks in the first set, breaking Sinner’s serve in the fourth game and losing just four points on his own serve to take a 5-2 lead.
Sinner hit back as the 26-year-old Canadian served for the set, converting his first break point of the match, but missed out on consecutive breaks before handing Shapovalov a one-set lead with an untimely double fault.
The 24-year-old Italian took control of the second set in the seventh game, pouncing on his first break point opportunity, and later confidently held to love to level the match.
Momentum swung again in the third set as Shapovalov broke Sinner’s serve in the second game and held a 30-40 lead in the fourth.
However, he couldn’t secure the double break, burying a shot into the net, and it proved to be the turning point in the match.
Sinner won the next two points and, helped by five double faults from Shapovalov, the following eight games to take the third set 6-3 and race into a 3-0 lead in the fourth.
Shapovalov safely navigated deuce in the fourth game to avoid a potential bagel and despite later having a break point, he could do little to stop Sinner’s canter to victory.
Qualifier Wong’s run ends in five-set Rublev defeat
Image source: Getty Images
Image caption: Andrey Rublev is through to the US Open fourth round for the fourth year in a row
Coleman Wong’s historic US Open run ended in a five-set thriller against Andrey Rublev, who eventually prevailed 2-6 6-4 6-3 4-6 6-3.
Wong, 21, came through three rounds of qualifying to become the first man from Hong Kong to reach the main draw of a Grand Slam in the Open era.
He then defeated American Aleksandar Kovacevic and Australia’s Adam Walton to move to within one win of reaching the second week in New York.
Against Rublev, the world number 173 played “with no fear” as he won the first set, twice breaking the 15th seed in a run of four consecutive games.
Rublev responded by winning the second and third sets before Wong wrestled his way back into the match at the beginning of the fourth, converting the only break point of the set in the opening game to force a decider.
There, Rublev made the decisive break in the sixth game before closing out the win on his first match point.
“He played aggressively and with no fear – it was tough,” said Rublev, who will play third seed Alexander Zverev or Felix Auger-Aliassime next.
“I didn’t start well, he was all over me, and I needed to fight for every ball to turn it around. He was fighting until the end in the last game. I’m happy I was able to win and get to the next round.”
Elsewhere, 435th-ranked Swiss qualifier Leandro Riedi became the lowest-ranked man to reach the fourth round of a major since 2002 after Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak retired injured in the first set.
Riedi’s next test is eighth seed Alex de Minaur, whose third round opponent Daniel Altmaier retired midway through the fourth set when trailing 6-7 (7-9) 6-3 6-4 2-0.
Tenth seed Lorenzo Musetti progressed in similar fashion against fellow Italian Flavio Cobolli.
Cobolli, the 24th seed, injured his arm in a fall during the match and received treatment from the trainer three times before retiring in the third set, trailing 6-3 6-2 6-0.
Musetti will face unseeded Spaniard Jaume Munar, who beat Belgium’s Zizou Bergs 6-1 6-4 6-4 to advance to the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.
