Hyeon Chung is on the rise once again at the US Open, scoring his second consecutive five-set win on Thursday against Fernando Verdasco to reach the third round. The South Korean, champion at the inaugural 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals, is far from alone in his penchant for five-set battles this week, though.

Twenty-three matches went to a fifth set in the first two rounds in New York, almost guaranteeing that the US Open will have more matches going the distance than any other Grand Slam this year or in 2018.

Five-Set Grand Slam Matches (2018 & 2019)

Chung is among five players who doubled their pleasure in scoring back-to-back five-set victories to reach the third round. Joining him in the feat are sixth seed Alexander Zverev, Alexander Bublik, Paolo Lorenzi and Kamil Majchrzak.

Chung, Lorenzi and Majchrzak showed supreme fitness by also weathering three matches in the qualifying draw. The South Korean’s win over Verdasco, which involved saving a match point at 5-6 in the final set, was one of four matches so far this week to conclude in a fifth-set tie-break. 

Meanwhile, Zverev has proven to be the last opponent anyone wants to face in a final set at a Grand Slam. He boosted his fifth-set record at majors this week to 12-5, winning nine of his past 10 matches that went the distance.

The South Korean spent a minute under seven hours on court in his first two rounds, proving he’s fully recovered from the back injury that sidelined him for five months this season. Chung returned to action on the ATP Challenger Tour in July and won the first event of his comeback in Chengdu.

He’ll need all of his remaining energy for a high-octane third-round clash on Saturday against second seed Rafael Nadal.

One word to describe Nick Kyrgios’ performance on Thursday at the US Open: clinical.

The 28th seed completed a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 win over Antoine Hoang in a brisk one hour and 58 minutes. It was standing room only on Grandstand to catch a glimpse of the Aussie, who sprinted past the French wild card with little trouble.

Kyrgios, who blasted 40 winners, has not dropped a set in matching his best result at the US Open. He has reached the third round for a fourth time and will look to make his Round of 16 debut when he faces Andrey Rublev on Saturday.

“Once again, the crowd was amazing. It’s always fun playing in front of them,” said Kyrgios following the match. “But he’s no easy opponent. Obviously he’s a quality opponent being in the second round here, so I knew it would be tough but I had to serve and play big. That’s what happened.

“New York has a fair bit of distractions, so I’m trying to stay away from that. But this is one of my favourite tournaments of the year, so I’m really trying to strap in and do well this week. I want to stay focused.”

Kyrgios breezed through the first set after 35 minutes without much drama. Serving at 5-4 40/0, he faked an underarm serve and promptly struck a sublime second serve ace that kicked beyond Hoang’s reach. It was smooth sailing from there for the 24-year-old, eventually converting his third match point with a service winner.

He enters New York on the heels of a title run at the Citi Open in Washington. It will be the second FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting between Kyrgios and Rublev, following a first-round triumph by the Aussie in Moscow last year.

Earlier on Thursday, Rublev advanced to the third round after Gilles Simon retired with a neck ailment. He led 6-2 when the Frenchman was forced to stop. Rublev, who upset eighth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas to open his campaign, is just two years removed from a magical quarter-final run at Flushing Meadows. On the comeback trail after enduring a stress fracture in his lower back, the 21-year-old is pushing towards a Top 40 return in the ATP Rankings.

For the second straight year, there are three Australians in the third round of the US Open. In 2018, it was Kyrgios, Alex de Minaur and John Millman. This week, Kyrgios and De Minaur are joined by 20-year-old Alexei Popyrin.

Popyrin defeated Mikhail Kukushkin 2-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-2, rallying from a set down to triumph on Court 12. The Sydney native launched 44 winners, including 15 aces, during the two-hour and 35-minute affair. He converted seven of 10 break chances.

Popyrin, who is sitting in 11th position in the ATP Race To Milan, is hoping a strong week in New York will propel him to a first Next Gen ATP Finals appearance. Making his US Open debut, he has claimed match wins at all four Grand Slams this year.

Next up for the surging Aussie is 24th seed Matteo Berretini. The Italian defeated Jordan Thompson 7-5, 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-1 to reach the third round in New York for the first time. He is one win from matching his best Grand Slam result, achieved last month at Wimbledon.

Perfect conditions greeted the players on Day 4 at the US Open, one day after play was completely washed out on the outside courts. A total of 11 second round singles matches were carried over from Wednesday.

Stan Wawrinka improved to 6-0 against Jeremy Chardy in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, edging the Frenchman 6-4, 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-3. In front of a packed Court 17 crowd, the 2016 champion advanced after two hours and 44 minutes. He has reached the quarter-finals or better in four of his past five appearances in New York.

“I think today was a great battle,” said Wawrinka. “I served really well and played aggressive. It was a great atmosphere on this court. For me, I take it match after match and I’m happy with how I’m playing here.”

The tour-level wins leader added a 46th victory in 2019, as Daniil Medvedev moved to an impressive 16-2 in the month of August. The World No. 5 equalled his best result in a Grand Slam with a second round victory over Hugo Dellien on Thursday, defeating the Bolivian 6-3, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3. The Cincinnati champion and runner-up in Washington and Montreal is streaking towards the second week at the US Open.

Denis Kudla needed six match points to put away 27th seed Dusan Lajovic 7-5, 7-5, 0-6, 6-3. The first American into the third round, Kudla is enjoying a career-best result at Flushing Meadows. He will face a third consecutive Serbian opponent on Friday – World No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

On Wednesday, after waiting for nearly seven hours, Alex de Minaur and Cristian Garin played six points before their match was suspended due to rain. As they got underway on Thursday, the #NextGenATP Aussie was eager to get off the court as fast as possible. He sprinted past Garin 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 in two hours and 20 minutes, setting a third-round encounter with World No. 7 Kei Nishikori. It will be their first meeting.

For a second straight match, Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak rallied from a set down to win in five. He outlasted Pablo Cuevas 6-7(3), 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, setting a third-round meeting with Grigor Dimitrov. Majchrzak is the first lucky loser into the US Open third round since Leonardo Mayer in 2017.

Daniel Evans booked a third-round blockbuster with Roger Federer after ousting Lucas Pouille 6-4, 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-4 in three hours and 10 minutes. The Brit defeated the 25th seed behind 30 winners and eight break points converted. He will face Federer for the third time in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, having dropped their two previous Grand Slam encounters in Wimbledon in 2016 and the Australian Open earlier this year.

Also, Pablo Carreno Busta set a third-round meeting with David Goffin. The Spaniard defeated Ricardas Berankis 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-0, while the Belgian blasted Gregoire Barrere 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.