Top seeds Henri Kontinen and John Peers reached the US Open third round on Sunday at Flushing Meadows as they defeated Mikhail Elgin and Daniil Medvedev 7-6(3), 6-4.

The Finnish-Australian duo are bidding to win their second Grand Slam championship of the season after victory at the Australian Open in January. They are also closing in on one of the coveted eight positions at the Nitto ATP Finals, currently second in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London.

Fourth seeds and defending champions Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares also advanced in straight sets, dismissing Marcus Daniell and Marcelo Demoliner 7-6(4), 6-3. The US Open was one of two Grand Slam championships that Murray and Soares won in 2016, helping them to finish as the No. 1 team in the year-end standings.

The in-form duo of Horia Tecau and Jean-Julien Rojer booked their spot in the quarter-finals, upsetting sixth seeds Ivan Dodig and Marcel Granollers 6-4, 6-3. Rojer and Tecau, who won the Wimbledon crown in 2015, came into New York on the back of winning their third title of the season in Winston-Salem (d. Peralta/Zeballos).

Spaniards Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez are through to the third round after beating Adrian Mannarino and Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-2 in just 39 minutes. They go on to face French duo Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin, who edged Taylor Fritz and Reilly Opelka 6-2, 6-7(3), 7-6(5).

Andrey Rublev will play in the singles fourth round against David Goffin on Monday, but first the Russian partnered #NextGenATP countryman Karen Khachanov to a 6-4, 7-6(7) victory over Leander Paes and Purav Raja in the second round.

Elsewhere, Robert Lindstedt and Jordan Thompson (pictured) defeated John Millman and Ken Skupski 7-6(4), 6-1, while Robin Haase and Matwe Middelkoop rallied from a set down to defeat Christopher Eubanks and Christian Harrison 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4.

It is one of sport’s greatest ever rivalries, spanning 37 matches and taking in nine Grand Slam finals, but somehow, a Roger Federer – Rafael Nadal battle has never graced Flushing Meadows.

Now, in a US Open that has been rife with upsets, Federer is hoping he and Nadal can continue to avoid any such pitfalls before their potential blockbuster semi-final clash.

They came within one point of playing each other in the 2011 final, but while Nadal made his way past Andy Murray in the semi-finals, Federer was denied on two match points against Novak Djokovic, who ultimately prevailed in their contest 7-5 in the fifth set.

“When you see a lot of seeds going out, you naturally put the focus on you for it not to happen to you,” said Federer after his third-round win over Feliciano Lopez. “You become more aware of it, that it seems a tournament of the upsets, so it’s going to get you, too. You’re going into the match this way.

“I think for many years Rafa and me, we’ve tried to play against each other here, and it just didn’t work out. I was a match point away once against Novak years ago. I can’t come closer than that because I think he had already won his match, I believe. We were one point away from it happening.

“Now this week, I don’t feel necessarily the pressure’s there. We’ll see. [There will be] a new Grand Slam finalist in the bottom section, which is exciting in itself, I think. In the top [half] we actually really have good players left. A lot of them can play at a very high level. They’re all facing off now. I think it’s an exciting tournament. I’m happy I’m still around.

“Rafa fought well through again today. I’m happy for him, too. We’ll see if it gets done or not. I’m curious to see myself.”

Read: Rafa Rallies To Dispatch Mayer

While the likes of Alexander Zverev, Marin Cilic, Grigor Dimitrov, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and John Isner were all shown the door in the first week at Flushing Meadows, Federer has grown in form and confidence. The Swiss’ preparation for the final Grand Slam of the year was hampered by a back injury, forcing him to withdraw from the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, and he wasn’t at his most comfortable in a five-set first-round tussle with Frances Tiafoe. He then had to go to five sets again against Mikhail Youzhny in the second round.

But there was a marked improvement in Federer’s level in his three-set dismissal of Lopez on Saturday night and the Basel native has his game face on going into the second week in New York. If he is to have the chance to challenge Nadal, the Swiss will need to overcome Philipp Kohlschreiber on Monday before a quarter-final showdown with either Juan Martin del Potro or Dominic Thiem.

“I needed to get over the fear of the back issue, especially in that first match, the first set,” said Federer. “Then I think the wobble I had in the second round was due to my preparation. I think now I’m just trusting my movement better. My serve is there. My mind is there. I can finally focus on playing tennis and not so much about the past. It’s nice to be in the present in my mind, looking ahead, thinking tactics.

“I think [with this preparation] we rolled the dice a little bit. Now we are in the fourth round and things are looking much better. I’m really excited how I feel after two five-setters. I’m confident in my physical shape.”

An opportunity awaits for the eight players remaining in the bottom half of the draw. For the first time since 2014 at the US Open a first-time Grand Slam finalist is guaranteed. 

Three years ago first-time finalists met in the championship as Marin Cilic defeated Kei Nishikori. In the fourth round of the bottom half of the draw, the highest-seeded players are No. 12 Pablo Carreno Busta, No. 16 Lucas Pouille, No. 17 Sam Querrey, No. 23 Mischa Zverev, No. 28 Kevin Anderson, and No. 29 Diego Schwartzman. 

Only Anderson (2015) and Pouille (last year) have reached the quarter-finals in Flushing Meadows. UnseededPaolo Lorenzi and #NextGenATP qualifier Denis Shapovalov are also left.

In the opening match on Arthur Ashe Stadium, Shapovalov takes on Carreno Busta for the first time.  The 18-year-old Shapovalov is the youngest player to reach the fourth round at the US Open since Michael Chang (17) in 1989. He is trying to become the youngest US Open quarter-finalist since Andre Agassi in 1988 and youngest in a Grand Slam quarter-final since Chang at 1990 Roland Garros.

With Russian teenager Andrey Rublev in the fourth round in the top half of the draw, this is the first time two teenagers have progressed as far at the US Open since Juan Martin del Potro and Kei Nishikori in 2008. Shapovalov is the first qualifier to reach the last 16 in Flushing Meadows since Gilles Muller (quarter-final) in 2008. 

Carreno Busta, who is the first player to face four qualifiers in a row in a Grand Slam event, is trying to reach his second Grand Slam quarter-final. He was a quarter-finalist at Roland Garros in June. His previous-best US Open result was the third round in 2014 and last year.

In the evening session, Zverev and Querrey battle it out for the first time. Zverev survived two five-set matches before beating top American John Isner in the third round. The 30-year-old German is trying to reach his second Grand Slam quarter-final of the season (Australian Open).  

Zverev and Philipp Kohlschreiber are the first German duo to reach the fourth round at the US Open since Tommy Haas and Nicolas Kiefer in 2004. Haas is the last German quarter-finalist in 2007. 

Querrey, who is the only player remaining in the bottom half of the draw to reach a Grand Slam semi-final (Wimbledon in July), is attempting to become the first American to advance to the US Open quarter-finals since Mardy Fish in 2012. Querrey is 15-3 since the beginning of Wimbledon and he’s in the fourth round at the US Open for the first time since 2010 (also 2008).

On Louis Armstrong, Lorenzi looks for his first win (0-3) against Anderson, who is the only player remaining yet to drop serve. The 31-year-old South African has held all 43 service games, saving 14 break points. 

The 35-year-old Italian is the oldest player in the Open Era to reach a Grand Slam fourth round for the first time. He is looking to become the first Italian to reach the quarter-finals in Flushing Meadows. 

Corrado Barazzutti advanced to the semi-finals at Forest Hills on clay in 1977 (l. to Connors). Anderson is 1-9 lifetime in Grand Slam fourth round matches and two years ago he beat No. 3 Andy Murray in the fourth round in New York before losing to Stan Wawrinka in his first Slam quarter-final.

On Grandstand, Pouille and Schwartzman meet for the first time in the main draw. In their only other meeting, the Argentine won in a qualifying match in 2013 Bastad. 

Pouille is trying to reach the quarter-finals for the second straight year and third overall in a Grand Slam tournament (2016 Wimbledon). Schwartzman is coming off his second career Top 10 win (2-13) over 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic.

He is appearing in his first career Grand Slam fourth round match. With Juan Martin del Potro in the fourth round in the top half, this is the first time since 2007 there are two Argentines in this round at the US Open. That year, Juan Ignacio Chela reached the QFs and Juan Monaco the fourth round.

Sharper, more confident and more consistent. It’s the report card that comes as music to Roger Federer’s ears after finding his range to cruise past Feliciano Lopez into the fourth round at this year’s US Open on Saturday.

In a worrying sign for his second-week opponents, the rust from the five-time champion’s opening two matches was rarely seen in a 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 dismissal of the Spaniard. His showdown with the 35- year old was the oldest match-up at the US Open since Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl squared off in 1992.

The Swiss was 15-1 in third-round US Open matches coming in, with his lone defeat coming at the hands of Lopez’s countryman Juan Carlos Ferrero on debut in 2000. But the result rarely looked in doubt as the 36 year old improved his unbeaten FedEx ATP Head2Head record against the serve-volleying Spanish lefty to 13-0. 

“It was clearly nice to go up two sets to love for a change. Feels different from there,” Federer grinned in reference to his opening two five-set struggles. “Overall I have felt better, too. I was happy I had good energy because I think that was my biggest worry, that somehow after the two five-setters that I had, I was going to feel a little slow, hard to throw the engine on, that I would have to force myself so much, I would get tired from that.

“It didn’t happen. I think I really got off to a good start. The first set was fast. Then the second set was close. Maybe I was struggling with my serve for a little bit to keep the level up … It was also good to get through those tougher moments.

“A little bit of a wobble in the third maybe. But it’s all good. I’m really pleased with the performance.”

DID YOU KNOW?
Federer moved into second place in the all-time aces list during his win over Lopez. The Swiss came into the match four aces behind Goran Ivanisevic. He hit 13 aces on Saturday night for a career total of 10,140. 

Career Ace Leaders

Note: ATP began tracking ace totals in 1991. Federer’s career aces total does not include results from Davis Cup, the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, and the 1999 Basel second round.

A lunging flicked backhand pass from Federer brought up set point on the Spaniard’s serve at 5-2 in the opening set. Lopez survived that but relinquished the set a game later when Federer sent down his fifth ace at the 24-minute mark.

Even out of position, the Swiss was at his improvising best. Crammed into a short backswing on the forehand wing, he guided a forehand down the line past Lopez to bring up two set points at 5-3 in the second set and surged to a two-set lead when his opponent misqueued a backhand wide.

When Lopez rolled down his first double fault of the match to concede the break for 1-3 in the third set, the contest looked all but over. But an error-ridden lapse cost the Swiss his serve in the ensuing game – the first time the Spaniard had broken him in their past four matches. The No.3 seed stepped it up a level to pounce on the Lopez serve at 5-6, working his way to an off-forehand winner to bring up a match point.

His fourth-round meeting with No. 33 seed Philipp Kohlchreiber was complete when the Spaniard netted one final forehand at the one-hour, 48-minute mark. Federer will carry an equally imposing 11-0 FedEx Head2Head record into his match with the 33-year-old German.

“I guess I maybe needed just a few hours here on this court,” Federer said. “I needed to get over the fear of the back issue, especially in that first match, the first set. Then I think the wobble I had in the second round was due to my preparation. 

“I think now I’m just trusting my movement better. My serve is there. My mind is there. I can finally focus on playing tennis and not so much, you know, about the past. So it’s nice to be in the present in my mind, looking ahead, thinking tactics.”

Kohlschreiber earlier booked his fourth-round berth with a 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Australia’s John Millman. Kohlschreiber joked in his on-court interview that he would prefer a contest with Lopez on Monday.

He will look to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final in five years, since making the last eight at Wimbledon in 2012 (l. to Tsonga). The German has rebounded strongly at the US Open, having missed the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events in Montreal and Cincinnati. He is playing his first tournament since winning the eighth title of his career in Kitzbuhel (d. Sousa). 

“I had a good preparation, even though I didn’t play the previous tournaments on hard courts,” Kohlschreiber told ATPWorldTour.com. “I worked on my fitness and had great focus for the tournament. The draw is also a crucial thing and I’ve had pretty good opponents for my game style. But overall, I’m feeling pretty great.

“For me, winning is the major thing to build the confidence. Everybody can play great tennis, but it’s about how much you believe. The last two tournaments on clay I played pretty good, [SF in Hamburg, title in Kitzbuhel]. I found my rhythm and my level again and took it from the clay-court season to New York.”