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