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 I like to play him. I like to play him in this tournament. Hopefully I can do a good match.”

Del Potro won his lone major crown at Flushing Meadows in 2009 (d. Federer) and made quarter-final appearances in 2012 (l. to Djokovic) and 2016 (l. to Wawrinka), making it his most successful Grand Slam championship.

.@delpotrojuan shares a sweet moment with fans on the Grandstand
▶️ the clip. https://t.co/Zu8RseB0gd ❤️ #usopen pic.twitter.com/yDarmr9G5o

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 2, 2017

Against the 11^th-seeded Bautista Agut, del Potro fired 14 aces, hitting 38 winners to 32 unforced errors. The right-hander converted five of his 13 break points and won 78 per cent of his first service points. 

“I think I played the best match of the tournament,” said del Potro. “I hit so well my forehand. I served well during the whole match. I played very smart with my slice. I came to the net very often, tried to be aggressive all the time, and I think I played well.”

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 either Juan Martin del Potro, whom he met at this stage last year, or Roberto Bautista Agut.

Thiem overcame a blistering start from Mannarino, who has been a player in form the past few weeks, reaching the final in Antalya (l. to Sugita) and the quarter-finals in Los Cabos (l. to Berdych) and Montreal (l. to Shapovalov).

From 3-5 down in the opener, Thiem reeled off seven straight games to take a 7-5, 3-0 lead. After securing a two-set advantage, the Austrian then broke in the first game of the third set before going on to seal victory in two hours and 12 minutes, improving to a perfect 6-0 mark against Mannarino in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

“It was a good match,” said Thiem in his on-court interview. “He is a very tough opponent, he’s been in great shape the past few months. The turning point was breaking back for 5-5 in the first set, otherwise it would have been very, very complicated.”

After a stellar season so far, Thiem is well placed at fourth in the Emirates ATP Race To London as he bids to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the second year in a row. The right-hander captured the title in Rio de Janeiro (d. Carreno Busta), reached his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final in Madrid (l. to Nadal) and made the semi-finals at Roland Garros (l. to Nadal).

US OPEN DAY SIX HIGHLIGHTS
• Three former US Open champions are in third round action on Saturday with five-time titleholder Roger Federer, two-time winner Rafael Nadal and 2009 champ Juan Martin del Potro leading the way  Also on the schedule are No. 6 seed Dominic Thiem, No. 9 seed David Goffin and No. 11 seed Roberto Bautista Agut.

• Nadal brings a 3-0 head-to-head record against lucky loser Leonardo Mayer of Argentina in the last match of the day session on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Nadal leads the ATP World Tour with 51 wins on the season and he’s trying to reach the 4R at the US Open for the 9th time. He is 8-2 in 3R matches. Mayer, who took the place of Milos Raonic in the main draw, is the first lucky loser to reach the 3R in Flushing Meadows since Flavio Cipolla in 2008. Mayer, who won the Hamburg title on July 30 as a lucky loser, is 1-24 lifetime against Top 10 opponents (0-13 on hard courts and 0-8 in Grand Slam play).

• In the night session, Federer takes a 12-0 record against No. 31 seed Feliciano Lopez.  Federer has survived two five-set matches to advance to the 3R in Flushing Meadows for the 17th time. He is 15-1 in 3R matches with his only loss coming in his 2000 debut (l. to Ferrero).  Federer is 32-1 in night matches at the US Open, the best record since 1980. Lopez, who will turn 36 on Sept. 20, is playing in his 16th straight US Open and 63rd Grand Slam tournament in a row. Federer is the all-time leader in men’s tennis with 65 consecutive Slam tournaments played, which ended at Roland Garros last year. Lopez was a quarter-finalist here in 2015.

• On Louis Armstrong Stadium, No. 30 seed Adrian Mannarino plays Thiem, who has won all five previous meetings against the Frenchman. Mannarino is 3-22 lifetime against Top 10 opponents (0-9 in Grand Slam play) and he is trying to reach the 4R here for the first time. He advanced to the 4R at Wimbledon twice (2013, 2017). Thiem, who reached the semi-finals for the second year in a row at Roland Garros in June, is aiming to reach the 4R here for the 3rd time in 4 years.  In the next match, Goffin and last year’s US Open semi-finalist No. 18 seed Gael Monfils square off for the 3rd time (tied 1-1). They split both of last year’s hard court meetings.

• On Grandstand, unseeded Viktor Troicki brings a 2-1 head-to-head record against Alexandr Dolgopolov, who last reached the 4R at the US Open in 2011. Troicki is trying to reach the 4R for the first time. In the next match on, Bautista Agut and del Potro meet for the third time (tied 1-1). Bautista Agut, who won the Winston-Salem title, is trying to reach his 10th Grand Slam 4R, his best result. The Argentine is 20-5 this season against opponents ranked outside the Top 6 (0-6 vs. Top 6).

• On Court 5, Damir Dzumhur plays NextGenATP Russian teenager Andrey Rublev, who is coming off his first career Top 10 win over Dimitrov. Both players are trying to reach their first 4R in a Grand Slam event. On Court 17, No. 33 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber looks for his second win in as many meetings against John Millman.

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.

Albot, who was appearing in his first Grand Slam third round, streaked to an early lead with a break for the opening set at 6-4. But Querrey’s response was quick and swift, breaking immediately to open the second and once more in the third and fourth sets. The 29 year old notched just his second victory from a set down at the US Open and first since 2012 (d. Lu in four).

“The shadows were really tough the first 90 minutes,” Querrey said. “That made things a little tricky to see the ball and really settle in. Once I broke him in the first game of the fourth, I played a lot better from there. It was a fun four-setter. I think it was good to face a little adversity there. Had to battle in a couple service games in the fourth set. Overall I felt pretty good.”

It marks the third straight year in which an American has reached the Round of 16 at Flushing Meadows, following successful fortnights by John Isner and Donald Young in 2015 and Jack Sock in 2016.

“I feel like I always had this level, but it’s just better now,” Querrey added. “All around, I’m recognizing the opportunities to move forward. My backhand is definitely better. I feel like my return is a lot better. I feel like my intangibles are a little better. I just feel like every part of my game is a little more complete now.”

Querrey will vie for his 50th Grand Slam match win when he faces Mischa Zverev next. The big-hitting California native is rolling through the second half of the season, playing the best tennis of his career behind a 15-3 record since the start of Wimbledon. A semi-finalist at the All England Club and champion at the ATP World Tour 250 in Los Cabos, Querrey is in position to make a charge in the Emirates ATP Race To London. He is currently in 10th position.

Zverev denied an all-U.S. encounter in the fourth round, defeating top American John Isner 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(5) in the nightcap on Friday. The German struck 34 winners and just seven unforced errors to reach the fourth round in New York for the first time. He first arrived at the US Open in 2006 and 11 years later, Zverev will make his debut in the second week.

The 30 year old had spent six hours, 17 minutes on court in his first two matches, claiming back-to-back five-set marathons. His third-round victory was far more efficient. The German executed his aggressive serve-and-volley gameplan perfectly on a brisk Friday evening in New York. Zverev would close out the first set in 30 minutes after capturing a break in the ninth game and after conceding a break for 4-3 in the second, Isner received a medical timeout for treatment on his neck.

Zverev was not rattled by the stoppage in play, earning the shot of the match with a stunning reflex volley to deny a blasted Isner mid-court forehand. The ball landed smack on the line. Two games later, a second serve return winner gave him a two-set lead. Isner had his chances in the third set, earning two break points at 3-all with a backhand pass, but Zverev turned aside both and would eventually advance in the ensuing tie-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 Andrey Rublev or Indians Leander Paes and Purav Raja. Khachanov and Rublev defeated Australian-Pakistani duo Sam Groth and  Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi 6-4, 6-4, while Paes and Raja eased past Serbs Janko Tipsarevic and Viktor Troicki 6-1, 6-3.

There was a win too for 2015 Australian Open champions Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini. The Italians beat 10th seeds Rohan Bopanna and Pablo Cuevas 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third round. Youth won out over experience when #NextGenATP Americans Taylor Fritz and Reilly Opelka took down Marcin Matkowski and Max Mirnyi 7-6(5), 6-4 in a first-round clash.

Spanish No. 11 seeds Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez avoided the joining the seeded casualties as they eased past German-Indian pair Andre Begemann and Divij Sharan 6-4, 6-4. Experienced Dutch-Romanian pair Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau also survived. The No. 12 seeds eked out a 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-3 victory over Bosnian-Serbian duo Damir Dzumhur and Dusan Lajovic.