Argentine Diego Schwartzman came from a set down to beat German sixth seed Alexander Zverev and reach the US Open quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows.

Schwartzman, the 20th seed, won 3-6 6-2 6-4 6-3 and will next face Rafael Nadal who overcame Marin Cilic in four sets.

A frustrated Zverev was docked a point for an obscenity in the final set after earlier hitting a ball into the crowd.

French 13th seed Gael Monfils cruised past unseeded Spaniard Pablo Andujar 6-1 6-2 6-2 to make the last eight.

Monfils, 33, broke serve six times and did not face a break point as he won in one hour and 26 minutes to set up a meeting with Matteo Berrettini.

Italian Berrettini, seeded 24th, saw off Russian Andrey Rublev 6-1 6-4 7-6 (8-6) to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final for the first time.

Berrettini, 23, had failed to progress beyond the first round in two previous attempts in New York.

He served for the match at 6-5 in the third set and, though unseeded Rublev was able to break him for the first time, the Italian secured victory in the resulting tie-break.

• Defending champion Osaka out of US Open

Frustrated Zverev falls short again

After three lengthy sets featuring 10 breaks of serve, Schwartzman, 27, stormed into a 4-0 lead in the fourth against an out-of-sorts Zverev, who served 17 double faults and made 65 unforced errors.

Zverev clawed a break back but, following a previous code violation for hitting the ball into the crowd, he was then docked a point for an audible obscenity on game point, which gave Schwartzman a 5-2 lead.

The 22-year-old remonstrated with umpire James Keothavong, saying he had not heard the earlier violation because of the noise of the rain falling on the Arthur Ashe Stadium roof.

Zverev found some composure to win his next service game but Schwartzman was able to convert the second of two match points with a forehand winner.

The defeat means Zverev, the winner of last year’s ATP Finals and seen by many as the leader of the next generation in the men’s game, has still only made two Grand Slam quarter-finals – at the French Open in 2018 and 2019.

“Alex today had many problems with the serve, I am a big returner and I took many chances with that. I think I played great tennis,” said Schwartzman.

The Argentine, who has lost all seven previous meetings with Nadal, added: “Rafa is my friend. It’s always great to play against him in a quarter-final of a Grand Slam.”

Analysis

GB Davis Cup captain Leon Smith on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

I’m absolutely thrilled for Schwartzman, he is a hugely popular guy and has a huge heart and high skill levels.

At 5ft 7in people thought it would be too difficult for him but he has proven everyone wrong.

It’s another Grand Slam where Zverev will leave with much disappointment and there will be a lot of soul-searching with him and his team after that loss

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Spanish second seed Rafael Nadal responded to the challenge thrown down by 2014 champion Marin Cilic as he battled to reach the US Open quarter-finals with a four-set win.

Nadal, 33, ultimately had too much quality for the Croatian 22nd seed in a 6-3 3-6 6-1 6-2 victory in New York.

Cilic, 30, briefly rediscovered his best form to level before wilting.

Nadal, the 18-time Grand Slam champion, will play Argentine 20th seed Diego Schwartzman in the last eight.

“For some moments in the second set I felt there were too many points in his hands, he was pushing me back, more aggression than me and he hit every ball very strong,” said Nadal.

“After that second set I thought something needs to change or I would be in his hands. I started to return the second serve inside the court and that created a different perspective.”

• Konta hoping for ‘big court’ inspiration as she aims for last-four place
• Schwartzman knocks out frustrated Zverev

After 2018 champion Novak Djokovic retired injured from his last-16 match against Stan Wawrinka on Sunday, Nadal is considered the joint favourite for the men’s title alongside Swiss great Roger Federer.

Nadal is aiming to close the gap to 20-time major winner Federer with his fourth title at Flushing Meadows.

The illustrious pair remain on course to meet in Sunday’s final which, remarkably, would be the first meeting in New York of their enduring rivalry.

First Nadal must see off Schwartzman, who reached the last eight for the second time by beating German sixth seed Alexander Zverev.

Federer, 38, plays his quarter-final against Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov at about 02:00 BST on Wednesday.

• Defending champion Osaka out of US Open
• Murray & Mattek-Sands into mixed doubles semis

Nadal’s resilience – and brilliance – leaves even Tiger impressed

Nadal encountered few problems in a straightforward opening set, only to see the powerful Cilic find his range in the second as he cut down on the unforced errors and pinned the Spaniard back.

Cilic has recently looked a shadow of the player who was a constant fixture inside the world’s top 10, a knee injury in 2018 contributing to him sliding to his lowest ranking in more than five years.

That previous form returned as he pushed Nadal back with heavy groundstrokes and backed them up with pinpoint winners to level the match.

Yet the momentum was suddenly dragged away from him by some remarkable returning from Nadal in an exhilarating fourth game of the third set.

Nadal scurried forward to reach a drop shot and then produced a twirling overhead for 0-30, topping that by somehow returning a smash which Cilic should have buried before swatting away a cross-court backhand winner for three break points.

Golf great Tiger Woods, who was animatedly supporting Nadal throughout, leapt to his feet as Ashe rose to acclaim the sheer brilliance of the Spaniard.

A deflated Cilic limply handed over the break with a double fault, producing another as Nadal broke again for a 5-1 lead on his way to a two-set lead.

That familiar problem returned on break point in the first game of the fourth set, giving Nadal a crucial break which he doubled for a 4-0 lead after seeing off a break point.

All hope was lost for Cilic by that point, Nadal teeing up match point with a stretching forehand winner around the net post which left Ashe incredulous again before he wrapped up victory in two hours and 49 minutes.

Defending champions Jamie Murray and Bethanie Mattek-Sands are through to the US Open mixed doubles semi-finals having beaten Mate Pavic and Gabriela Dabrowski in a match tie-break.

Murray and Mattek-Sands defeated the second seeds 2-6 7-5 10-4.

The British-American pairing will face Rajeev Ram and Sam Stosur or Henri Kontinen and Demi Schuurs next.

Coco Gauff and Catherine McNally lost to Victoria Azarenka and Ashleigh Barty in the women’s doubles third round.

Americans Gauff, 15, and McNally, 17, were blown away 6-0 6-1 in just 48 minutes by Belarusian Azarenka and Australia’s Barty.

In the men’s doubles, Murray and fellow Briton Neal Skupski will face Jack Sock and Jackson Withrow in the quarter-finals after the American pairing defeated Bob and Mike Bryan 6-4 7-5.

Colombian top seeds Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal beat Dutch 13th seeds Robin Haase and Wesley Koolhof 6-4 6-4 and will play Briton Luke Bambridge and Japan’s Ben McLachlan in the last eight.

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Defending champion Naomi Osaka has been knocked out of the US Open, losing 7-5 6-4 to Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic in the last 16.

Osaka, 21, was broken late in the opening set and then again in the fifth game of the second under the Arthur Ashe Stadium roof at Flushing Meadows.

Japan’s Osaka will lose her world number one ranking, with Ashleigh Barty of Australia to return to the top spot.

Bencic, the 13th seed, will play Donna Vekic in the quarter-finals.

• ‘I need a break after losing to Konta – but there won’t be time for fishing’
• Djokovic booed as he pulls out of US Open injured

The Croat, seeded 23rd, saved a match point as she beat Germany’s 26th seed Julia Gorges 6-7 (5-7) 7-5 6-3 in two hours and 42 minutes on Louis Armstrong Stadium.

For Bencic, 22, it is her second appearance in the quarter-finals after also making the last eight in 2014 as a 17-year-old.

She has now beaten Osaka three times this year after previous victories in Indian Wells and Madrid.

“I was so excited to come on the court, the challenge cannot be bigger – Naomi Osaka is a great player and won the US Open last year,” said Bencic. “I had to be on top of my game and am really pleased with how I played.

“She has a lot of power, I was just trying to play it a little bit like chess, anticipate and make a tactic on the court.”

Osaka, who beat Serena Williams in last year’s final for her maiden Grand Slam title, started off badly as she lost her serve at the first opportunity and had to save two break points to avoid going 3-0 down.

She then fought back with a break before Bencic took the decisive break in the 11th game and then served out the set.

In the second set, Osaka, who later said she had been struggling with a knee injury, double-faulted to gift Bencic another break and the Swiss player took the final game of the match with a service hold to love.

After winning the Australian Open in January for her second Grand Slam, Osaka became the world number one, a position she held until June when Barty took over.

Osaka returned to the top eight weeks later but Barty will become number one again, despite losing in the last 16 to China’s Qiang Wang on Sunday.

“For me, right now I have this feeling of sadness, but I also feel like I have learned so much during this tournament,” said Osaka, who received wide praise for comforting 15-year-old Coco Gauff, with both players crying after their third-round match.

“I feel like the steps I’ve taken as a person have been much greater than I would imagine at this point, so I hope I can keep growing. I know if I keep working hard, then I’ll have better results.”

Vekic comes back from brink to beat Gorges

Bencic’s quarter-final opponent will be 23-year-old Vekic, who is through to the last eight of a Grand Slam for the first time after a superb recovery against Gorges.

Germany’s Gorges served for the match when leading 5-4 in the second set but appeared overcome with nerves, coughing up three double faults among a series of errors.

She did have a match point but netted a forehand and when a serve-volley went long, Vekic was back at 5-5. The Croat then broke again in Gorges’ next service game to take the second set.

A single break in the decider left Vekic serving for the match at 5-3 and she had to save two break points before a Gorges smash went over the baseline to give her the victory.

“She was serving for the match, had match points but I just kept fighting and believing I could win,” said Vekic.

“I was just trying to get a return in the court, she was serving amazing, but I felt confident in the rallies.”

On facing Bencic, Vekic added: “She is a really good friend of mine, we practise together often and know each other’s game pretty well. She’s one of the best players this year.”

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Karolina Pliskova was one of the favourites to win the US Open title, but was beaten by Britain’s Johanna Konta in a compelling last-16 match.

In her final BBC Sport column from New York, the Czech third seed talks about her exit at Flushing Meadows, why it has not changed her belief she can win a Grand Slam – and her love for fishing.

Losing to Johanna Konta was disappointing but I would not say this was another golden opportunity missed to finally win my first Grand Slam.

I played an opponent who has been fourth in the world, so it was always going to be very hard, and then she played the best I’ve seen her play.

And even if I had won, I would have played Elina Svitolina, and possibly Serena Williams in the semi-finals, so there would not be an easy match between now and the final.

Maybe the first couple of matches were a little easier than they sometimes they can be, but this was not a dream draw for me. The standard is so high in the women’s game but I’m still sure I have the game to win a Grand Slam – that remains the goal.

Overall, I played solid in the tournament – it was not a disaster and it was nothing super. I could do much better.

Leading by a set and a break against Johanna meant it was, of course, a big chance but it is not like I missed match points – it was very close all the way through the match.

Immediately after losing a match like that, I don’t feel angry. You have a lot of emotion and stress during a tournament so once you lose it is like all those emotions are suddenly lifted.

‘She said she had improved since Rome – she was 50 times better!’

It is tough to talk about positives because I don’t see any.

Maybe it was my best match of the tournament but sometimes it is not enough when somebody plays as well as Johanna did. I had beaten Johanna in six of our seven previous meetings at tour level, but she played more aggressive than our other matches.

She said before she thought she had improved since I beat her in the Italian Open final in Rome – and I think she was 50 times better!

What impressed me the most was the way she went for her shots a little bit more, because normally I think she waits more for mistakes from her opponent, or plays more crosscourt, but she went for every shot and a lot of times she hit the line. She was brave and it paid off.

She also served very well, especially in the third set when she was behind on serve and I was always one game up. She did a great job by serving under pressure and putting the pressure back on to me.

Overall I’d say it was her best match of the tournament so far, but it is tough to say how far she can go.

She has reached this part of a Grand Slam a few times now, and semi-finals, but I’m not sure if she can go on to win it because Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka are still in the draw, while Elina is going to be tough in the next round.

‘A chance to catch up with family – but no time for fishing’

I will not watch the rest of the tournament because of the time difference – I am flying back to Prague straight away – and there is nobody who I would be interested in staying up to watch.

When I get to Prague I will take some time off because the month has been long and I haven’t had many days off. Then I will think about my plan, and then the Asia swing which starts later this month.

My twin sister Kristyna is already back in the Czech Republic so we will spend time with our family because we are away a lot, and maybe I will go home to Monte Carlo for a couple of days too.

I will also get to see our little sister – she is six and starts school this week. She is very excited about that. She is very clever, I think more than most six-year-olds, so she should do very well at school and enjoy it.

Obviously I wish I was still going to be here in New York all week, but at least it will be nice to see her going to school on her first week there.

Other than that, I will be sleeping, shopping and doing all the normal stuff – although I doubt I’ll have time for fishing, which is one of my favourite hobbies!

I like fresh water fishing a lot. The Czech Republic has no coast so I fish in rivers, ponds or lakes.

You need a licence to fish so I have one of those and I know more about the waters there, although I went deep-sea fishing in the Seychelles and Miami last year to try different things.

My father is a big fan of fishing – that’s where I get my love from – and he tries to teach me how to fish when we go. But I never catch any big fish!

If you want to catch smaller fish then it is easier because you could possibly catch one every 20 or 30 minutes, but if you want to go for bigger weights then you need to be sitting there for hours and hours – maybe all night.

It is a relaxing hobby. I don’t have my phone on when I’m fishing because you need to be focused and quiet, so it can be helpful for the mental part.

Once my tennis career is over I want to go fishing more, but for the moment I only have one or two days off every now and then so I don’t get the chance.

Karolina Pliskova was talking to BBC Sport’s Jonathan Jurejko at Flushing Meadows

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