Jo-Wilfried Tsonga ended American hopes at the US Open as he defeated last man standing, Jack Sock, 6-3, 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-2 in New York on Sunday.

The Frenchman had a match point in the third set but Sock saved it and looked to have the American crowd behind him heading into the pivotal fourth set. Tsonga broke the 23 year old twice in the final set to move into his second Grand Slam quarter-final of the season (Wimbledon, l. to Murray).

“It was really difficult because he played great in the third,” Tsonga said during his on-court interview with ESPN after the match. “I just tried to play my game in the fourth and that’s it. Stay focused on what I have to do.”

The Frenchman is looking to mount a late charge in the Emirates ATP Race To London and helped his cause by reaching the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows for the second year in a row.

Tsonga started the US Open at 16^th in the year-to-date standings, just over 1000 points behind eighth-placed countryman Gael Monfils, who also advanced to the quarter-finals earlier with victory over Marcos Baghdatis.

View Emirates ATP Race To London

Tsonga fell in the last eight to Marin Cilic at the US Open last year and will look to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final since he made a run on home soil last year at Roland Garros (l. to Wawrinka).

The 31-year-old Tsonga controlled the contest with Sock during the first two sets, winning 85 per cent of his first-serve points (28/33) and hitting 28 winners to take a two-set lead. Sock rebounded in a packed Louis Armstrong Stadium, though, running around a Tsonga serve to hit a forehand winner and take the third set.

After the clean forehand, the Nebraska native, who was looking to reach his first career Grand Slam quarter-final, lifted his arms to try to rally the crowd. But Tsonga’s big-match experience paid off in the fourth as he did not face a break point in advancing.

The ninth seed goes on to face either World No. 1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic or #NextGen star Kyle Edmund. Asked on court if he’d like the two to endure a quick three-set match or a long five-set contest, Tsonga said, “Of course, a long five-set match. Really long. Really, really, really long,” he said in between laughs. “I’m in a quarter-final and now everything can happen, so I will give my best. I will fight for it, and we will see.”

Sock, No. 26 seed, was trying to become the first homegrown quarter-finalist in the US Open men’s draw since 2011, when Andy Roddick and John Isner reached the last eight.

Gael Monfils booked his spot in the US Open quarter-finals for the third time after dismissing Marcos Baghdatis 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 on Sunday at Flushing Meadows.

The Frenchman is in keen contention to qualify for the year-end Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at The O2 for the first time. Monfils is currently eighth in the Emirates ATP Race To London and boosted his bid with his fourth straight-sets win of the tournament in New York.

Watch: Improved Monfils In London Contention

The 30-year-old Monfils also reached the last eight at the US Open in 2010 (l. to Djokovic) and 2014 (l. to Federer) and goes on to face either Rafael Nadal or Lucas Pouille. The Frenchman was a quarter-finalist at the Australian Open in January (l. to Raonic) and is bidding to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final since 2008 Roland Garros (l. to Federer).

Playing Baghdatis for the fourth time, Monfils improved to a 3-1 lead in their FedEx ATP Head2Head as he prevailed in just under two hours. The 10^th-seeded Frenchman converted seven of his 11 break points and benefitted from 43 unforced errors from Baghdatis’ racquet as the Cypriot’s run came to an end.

“It’s always a pleasure to play against Marcos and you know you always have to play your best,” Monfils said in his on-court interview. “I think I had to be very consistent with my serve because he’s a pretty good returner. I was good on my forehand today and I was very fast on the baseline. Everything was good today.”

The 31-year-old Baghdatis posted his best Grand Slam result in seven years after reaching the fourth round of a major for the first time since the 2009 Australian Open. Baghdatis was runner-up in Melbourne in 2006 (l. to Federer).

Stan Wawrinka was a point away from crashing out of the US Open, but came back to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(6), 7-6(8), 6-2 against Daniel Evans in the third round on Saturday. Evans held match point at 6/5 in the fourth-set tie-break, but the Swiss hung on and completed the comeback in just over four hours.

“I was frustrated, for sure, to be down two sets to one because I wasn’t playing my best tennis. But I still had a chance. So I was trying to find the right way, how to keep fighting; how to stay in the match,” Wawrinka said. “He was often coming to the net to try to finish the point. I had to play better, to be a little bit more aggressive.”

Wawrinka looked out of sorts after rolling an ankle early in the match. Intervention from the tournament physio allowed the No. 3 seed to continue, but it was the more aggressive Evans who controlled the run of play, approaching the net 63 times in total (41/63) to keep Wawrinka off-balance until the momentum shifted late in the match.

“I had the feeling in the fourth set that I was starting to play a little bit better. He was starting to be down a little bit, but still playing really well on those important points, still being there, still being tough. It wasn’t easy to stay calm with myself. But in general, I think that was the key to the match,” Wawrinka said.

The two-time Grand Slam champion’s experience and superior conditioning helped him win the day. Wawrinka gutted out the fourth-set tie-break, then broke his opponent three times in the deciding set to move into the second week in Flushing Meadows for the fifth consecutive year.

Next up for the 2015 semi-finalist will be Illya Marchenko, who won when No. 14 Nick Kyrgios retired down 4-6, 6-4 ,6-1. He becomes only the third Ukrainian, after Andrei Medvedev and Alexandr Dolgopolov, to reach the second week at a Grand Slam event. Kyrgios injured his hip in the second set and was limping noticeably before conceding the match after the third set. Wawrinka beat Marchenko 6-3, 6-2 at Indian Wells earlier this year in their lone previous FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting.

Nicolas Mahut had his opportunity to cause one of the big shocks of the 2016 US Open. The Frenchman had a break point for a set and a break lead in his third round encounter against Kei Nishikori, but the 2014 finalist dominated the match from then on, reeling off 18 of the last 23 games for the 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 victory.

Nishikori cruised to the finish line after two hours and 16 minutes, firing 37 winners and just 28 unforced errors. He executed his return game to near perfection in the final three sets, converting seven of 11 break points, while holding Mahut to 54 per cent first serve points won.

The Japanese, who has been pushed to four sets in each of his three matches this week, is into the second week in Flushing Meadows for the third time in eight appearances. He will face either 21st seed Ivo Karlovic or #NextGen star and American hopeful Jared Donaldson next, with a spot in the quarter-finals on the line.

Andy Murray was put to the test by Paolo Lorenzi in the third round of the US Open on Saturday, needing four sets to book his spot in the fourth round. He will next face No. 22 seed Grigor Dimitrov for the tenth time (Murray leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 6-3).

“He’s a very good player,” Murray said of his next opponent. “He does a lot of things well on the court. He has good feel, moves well… It will be another tough one in a couple of days’ time. I expect it to be very hard. I’ll be ready for that. I’ll need to play better than today if I want to win that.” 

The Dunblane native reached the Round of 16 at a major for the 23^rd consecutive tournament (DNP 2013 Roland Garros) after topping the 34-year-old Italian 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-2, 6-3. Murray was one of three Brits in the third round of the US Open (also Daniel Evans, Kyle Edmund), the first time this has happened since 1968. 

In the first set, Lorenzi broke Murray for a 5-4 lead, marking just the second time the 2012 champion had been broken in the tournament. But an unforced error from the World No. 40 in the following game gave the second seed the break back. The Scot gained momentum and a mini-break in the eventual tie-break and went on to grab the first set after exactly one hour. 

The pair traded breaks early in the second set, and the Italian, appearing in the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time, went on to break again for a 4-2 lead. But a 42-shot rally ending in Murray’s favour earned the Scot two break points to get back on serve. One chance was all it took as Lorenzi sent a backhand into the net. Up 6-5, Lorenzi benefited from a forehand error from Murray, grabbing the second set 7-5 to level the match. In the third and fourth sets, it was one-way traffic for Murray, who sealed victory with the help of 60 winners after three hours and 16 minutes.

“I expected a tough match. I expected long rallies. I’m just disappointed with the amount of errors I made. I was quite impatient at times. That cost me in the first and second sets. I worked it out, won, got through, and I didn’t play well. So I’m happy with that.”

Juan Martin del Potro overcame a slow start and solved the challenge posed by David Ferrer 7-6(3), 6-2, 6-3 on Saturday at the US Open. The 2009 US Open champion is into the second week at a Grand Slam event for the first time since Wimbledon 2013 by prevailing in two hours and 24 minutes. Del Potro has yet to drop a set in Flushing Meadows this year.

“I got stronger mentally after the first set. Against David you never know when the match is going to finish. He never gives up,” del Potro said. “It’s a pleasure to play against him because he puts me under pressure all the time. I needed to play my best tennis today.”

The wily Ferrer came into the match with a specific gameplan and targeted del Potro’s weaker backhand wing during baseline exchanges. Ferrer’s heavy hitting forced the towering Argentine outside of the sidelines and forced him to chip the ball defensively, producing easy put-away volleys for the Spaniard.

Ferrer’s early offensive took him to 5-2 in the opening set, but it was all del Potro thereafter. The former World No. 4 stepping on returns to break back, then won the first-set tie-break without dropping a point on his serve to move ahead for good. The 6’6” del Potro’s serving was a major asset, as he fired five aces in the last two sets (six total) and did not face break point the rest of the way.

“I think I did really well in the second and the third sets. I’m so glad to be in the second week after three years. It means a lot of good things to me,” del Potro said. “Of course, I’m looking forward to keep winning. But my next opponent will be really difficult.”

With the win, del Potro improved to 4-6 in his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry against Ferrer. Next up will be No. 8 seed Dominic Thiem. Del Potro won his lone tour-level meeting with the Austrian on the clay of Madrid earlier this year.

“It will depend on my body, on my game. If I play like I did today, I will have a chance to play a great match against him. But he’s playing really well. He’s very dangerous. His backhand is so good. His movements are really fast. It will be an interesting match for me.”