Staff Reporter.
@felixtennis.
Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime pulled off the biggest shock of theUS Open so far by stunning third seed Alexander Zverev in the third round.
Auger-Aliassime claimed his first victory over a top-five player at a grand slam, fighting back from a set down to defeat Zverev 4-6 7-6 (7) 6-4 6-4.
The 25-year-old had not previously beaten a top-five ranked opponent in seven attempts at a major tournament.
But his game – booming serve, vicious groundstrokes and supreme athleticism – knitted together to end Zverev’s latest bid for an elusive Grand Slam title.
“In practice I felt like I was doing things really well. Mentally, [I’ve had] more clarity in my game and how I want to play,” Auger-Aliassime said.
“A performance like this doesn’t fall out of the sky.
“But you never know also when you’re going to play that level on any given day.”
The result was another big disappointment at a slam for Zverev, who reached his third final at the Australian Open in January but made his earliest exit here since 2018.
Former world number six Auger-Aliassime faces Russian 15th seed Andrey Rublev in the fourth round on Monday.
Meanwhile, 23rd seed Alexander Bublik set up a meeting with defending champion Jannik Sinner after again taking advantage of a home favourite’s physical ailments.
Kazakhstan’s Bublik knocked out 14th seed Tommy Paul in a thrilling 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 win ending at 1:15am local time.
Paul had spent almost three tournament hours more on court than Bublik, having come through another late-night thriller against Portugal’s Nuno Borges two days earlier, and could barely move during the final set.
“I’d like to wish Ben [Shelton] and Tommy the best recovery because they’re close friends and it was a pity to see them like this,” said Bublik, who has won all of his 55 service games during the tournament.
Elsewhere six-time major champion Iga Swiatek showed in her third-round match what it takes to come through adversity.
Swiatek, 24, trailed 5-1 in the opening set against Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya before readjusting to win 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 in Saturday’s night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“It’s not easy sometimes to find the solutions and the exact thing that will help you,” Swiatek, who plays Russia’s 13th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova next, said.
“You need to have your mind open enough to think about what can you do.
“Today was a pretty good day in terms of that, because at 5-1 it’s easy to panic and I didn’t.”
Trusting her natural ability, and the work she is doing with coach Wim Fissette to further improve, has also been the key to Swiatek turning around her season.
After a slump by her lofty standards at the start of the year, the former long-time world number one started the final major of the season as most people’s pick for the trophy.
The recently crowned Wimbledon champion, who won the US Open in 2022, underlined her credentials on the American hard courts with victory at the Cincinnati Open.
Swiatek was far from her best against 29th seed Kalinskaya, with a low serve percentage particularly damaging, and her relief was demonstrated by an animated celebration.