US Open: De Minaur sinks Thompson, Medvedev beats Borges to reach QFs

New York, Sep 3 (IANS) The No.10 seed Australian Alex de Minaur steered past compatriot Jordan Thompson, 6-0, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 to enter third straight grand slam quarterfinal at the US Open.The 10th seed raced out of the blocks to take command early and showed great foot speed throughout on Louis Armstrong, tracking down drop volleys and flat Thompson groundstrokes to reach the last eight after two hours and 57 minutes.De Minaur joined an octet of Aussies to have reached three consecutive major quarterfinals in the Open Era, and becomes the first man from his country to achieve the feat since legendary Lleyton Hewitt in 2005With his 40th tour-level win of the year, De Minaur passed Novak Djokovic in seventh place in the ATP Live Race To Turin, according to ATP stats.

The 25-year-old has enjoyed an impressive year, reaching the last eight at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, while winning titles in Acapulco and ‘s-Hertogenbosch. He is aiming to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time.

De Minaur will next meet British lefty Jack Draper in the last eight.

In other men's singles match, the fifth seed and 2021 titlist continued his impressive 2024 campaign at the New York major with a 6-0, 6-1, 6-3 fourth-round triumph against Nuno Borges to reach the fifth US Open quarterfinal.Medvedev, the only former US Open champ remaining in the draw, has dropped just one set across his four matches so far, and will play top seed Jannik Sinner or home favourite Tommy Paul in the quarter-finals.His run in New York so far has also boosted Medvedev's chances of qualifying for the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals for the sixth consecutive year. The 20-time tour-level champion is currently fourth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, and he could jump above Carlos Alcaraz into third by clinching the US Open trophy, as per ATP stats.