Dominic Thiem weathered an inspired fight from 2014 champion Marin Cilic on Saturday at the US Open, hanging tough to prevail 6-2, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in their third-round clash.

The second seed is through to the second week in New York for the fifth time in seven appearances. Although Thiem’s form has been patchy at times, his game has improved considerably from his opening-round defeat last week at the Western & Southern Open and he remains a top contender to take the title.

“I think the quick start was more because of him. He had two very tough rounds and was a little bit slow in the beginning. I took all of my chances,” Thiem said on court after the match. “Today was a good win against a great champion, so that should give me a boost.

“I’m not 100 per cent yet. I still have to raise my level if I want to go deeper. I’m normally capable of doing this in the Slams [and] hopefully here as well.”

Next up for the Austrian is No. 15 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who hasn’t dropped a set this week en route to his best showing at a Grand Slam. This will be their first ATP Head2Head meeting.

“The whole package is great. He’s a great player, great person outside of the court. I think he has huge star potential. Unbelievable athlete, good looking. He has everything basically,” Thiem said. “The only thing to my advantage is experience. This is his first fourth round at a Slam, so hopefully I can play that out a bit. It’s going to be a nice one and I’m looking forward to it.” 

Thiem gave Cilic little to work with at the start of the match, camping well behind the baseline and forcing the Croatian to hit through him. Although Cilic was happy to play first-strike tennis, he became rattled by Thiem’s relentless retrieving and leaked errors from his normally reliable forehand wing. Both players hit six winners in the first set, but Thiem only struck two unforced errors while Cilic hit 13.

Cilic continued to struggle with his timing and Thiem’s consistency in the second set, enabling the 27-year-old to sprint to a 4-0 lead. Although he found his range after going down a double break, the deficit was too much to overcome. Thiem held comfortably at 5-2 and took a commanding advantage, hitting 18 winners across the first two sets to just four errors.

The Croatian was finally rewarded for his high-velocity play in the third set, earning his first break of the night after a brief dip in form from Thiem at 3-2. Cilic’s nerves were evident as he served for the set at 5-3 and the number of times he bounced the ball before serving nearly doubled. Although he struggled to find first serves, his groundstrokes never wavered. Cilic cracked a forehand winner on set point and closed the gap.

The added pressure from Cilic’s improved form began to affect Thiem’s baseline play. He hit nearly as many errors in the first five games of the fourth set (12) as he did in the first three sets combined. But the Austrian willed his way to tight service holds and took advantage of four baseline errors from Cilic to break serve at 3-2.

Cilic had opportunities to bring the match to a fifth set, but was left to rue missing all five break point opportunities. A big first serve from the second seed wrapped up play after two hours and 27 mjnutes. Thiem finished the night with 38 winners.

Alex de Minaur remembers meeting Jordan Thompson nearly a decade ago. The #NextGenATP Aussie hit with his older countryman a couple of times and their friendship has grown since.

Now, from Sydney to Flushing Meadows, they make up the first Aussie pair to reach the fourth round of the US Open since Lleyton Hewitt and Patrick Rafter in 2001.

“It [is] just amazing to see him grow up and get to the point where he has gone and me trying to follow in his footsteps,” De Minaur said.

Thompson has quietly worked through the draw. On his 20th Grand Slam main draw appearance, he is into the fourth round for the first time. He will play 27th seed Borna Coric for a spot in the quarter-finals.

“[I’m] in the fourth round and I feel like I’ve got nothing to lose,” Thompson, who is 26, said. “It’s another opportunity, but just happy to be there and I’ll give it my all as I always do.”

Thompson doesn’t sport a flashy game, nor does he grab attention with his actions on or off the court. But his improvement over the past few years is evident. In 2018, he earned one tour-level victory. Last season, he won 26 of them.

“I’ve been labelled as a pretty quiet guy and a man of few words,” Thompson told ATPTour.com last year. “I’m happy to just go about my business and let the other [Aussie] guys have bigger profiles. I like remaining under the radar.”

That will be tougher as Thompson is one of the last 16 players remaining in this Grand Slam event. De Minaur is certainly happy for his friend.

“It’s amazing. I’ve known him for a very long time. We have hit together. He’s like a big brother for me,” De Minaur said. “It’s amazing to see us both [go through] and him leading the way… Hopefully we can just keep it going. He’s playing some great tennis, and I’m really happy for him, that’s for sure.”

Alex de Minaur” />
^{Photo Credit: Rhea Nall/USTA}
Thompson won his third-round match against Mikhail Kukushkin on Friday in straight sets. De Minaur had far more trouble on Saturday against 11th seed Karen Khachanov. The Russian at one point won eight consecutive games to seemingly seize all the momentum.

But De Minaur bit down and dug his teeth into the match, sprinting from corner to corner to force Khachanov to maintain his high level. The Aussie rallied from two sets to one down to reach the fourth round of the US Open for the second consecutive year.

It’s only fitting that this year he joined Thompson.

“It’s amazing, these stats. I’m so happy that I’m able to do it with a fellow Sydneysider as Thommo,” said De Minaur, who will next play big-serving Canadian Vasek Pospisil. “We’re both out here getting some wins and I couldn’t be happier for us both. Hopefully we can just keep it going.”

Vasek Pospisil added a second upset to his US Open tally on Saturday, recovering from two-sets-to-one down to shock Roberto Bautista Agut 7-5, 2-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Louis Armstrong Stadium.

The World No. 94 struck 70 winners and came to the net on 45 occasions to break through Bautista Agut’s defence and reach the Round of 16 in New York for the first time. The victory comes five years after Pospisil’s maiden run to the fourth round at a major championship, when he advanced to the 2015 Wimbledon quarter-finals.

“[I am] thrilled. I was playing great tennis all the way through,” said Pospisil. “I had a little bit of a physical dip in the second and third sets and then the shade came in, which really helped me… I played solid all the way through. I was very relaxed, going for my shots and sticking to my game plan, my strengths. It worked out really well.”

Pospisil has now defeated two of the most in-form players since the resumption of the ATP Tour on Louis Armstrong Stadium. Two days ago, the 30-year-old came from a set down to defeat Western & Southern Open runner up Milos Raonic in four sets.

Pospisil entered his fourth ATP Head2Head match against Bautista Agut without a win to his name, but the Canadian raised his game in the final two sets to overpower his opponent. Pospisil improves to 11-5 this year, building on a strong start to the season prior to the suspension of the ATP Tour in March. More than five years after reaching his maiden ATP Tour final in 2014, Pospisil advanced to his second ATP Tour championship match at the Open Sud de France in February.

Pospisil will face Alex de Minaur for a spot in the quarter-finals. De Minaur also rallied from two-sets-to-one down to overcome 11th seed Karen Khachanov 6-4, 0-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. The Aussie broke serve on six occasions to book his place in the US Open fourth round for the second straight year after three hours and two minutes.

De Minaur is unbeaten in two ATP Head2Head meetings against Pospisil. The Sydney native claimed hard-court victories against Pospisil in 2018 at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C. and the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

After nine games without a break point, Bautista Agut attacked Pospisil’s forehand to survive two set points at 4-5. But the Canadian, who won 10 of 13 net points in the first set, quickly created another opportunity in his next return game. Pospisil ripped his three consecutive forehand winners to break to love at 5-6 and snatch the opening set.

Pospisil survived seven break points in his opening service game of the second set, before Bautista Agut charged back into the match. The nine-time ATP Tour titlist attacked his opponent’s backhand and moved to the net to earn his first break of the match and quickly doubled his advantage en route to the second set.

Bautista Agut made a quick start to the third set, playing with consistency from the back of the court to extract errors in in the opening game. The World No. 11 held his advantage with confidence on serve, winning 87 per cent of points behind his first delivery to move one set from victory.

Pospisil landed 20 winners in the fourth set, including a backhand return winner at 4-3, to force a decider and charge to the finish line. The Canadian moved up the court in crucial moments in the fifth set and showcased composure at the net to gain two service breaks. Serving for the match at 5-2, Pospisil converted his first match point with a pinpoint backhand passing shot up the line.