Key events
Gauff races to a love hold, a couple of aces in there, too. Osaka leads 2-1 in the first set.
Well then, this is some start from Naomi Osaka. The 23rd seed is up and away with a 2-0 lead in the first set, Gauff beginning with a string of unforced errors.
Alexandrova suffered with her second serves, winning just 27% of her points on those. The action doesn’t stop, with Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka making their way out on Arthur Ashe for today’s headline clash.
Iga Swiatek (2) beats Ekaterina Alexandrova (13) 6-3, 6-1
Swiatek heads to the net to sweep away a backhand and go 30-15 up. Alexandrova recovers though, attacking to give herself a chance of survival, launching the ball deep to give Swiatek some bother on the baseline. But the 2022 US Open champion prevails, a backhand winner sending her through to the quarters.
Swiatek has another chance to break, and Alexandrova’s fourth double fault of the match provides it. The second seed will serve for the match, up 6-3, 5-1.
Swiatek has little to worry about at the moment. She’s 6-3, 4-1 up against Alexandrova.
Felix Auger-Aliassime (25) beats Andrey Rublev (15) 7-5, 6-3, 6-4
Rublev holds and Auger-Aliassime is up again, serving to reach the last eight. He is up to the net to secure the first point, a statement move. A lightning ace follows and another first serve sets him up for a deep forehand winner. Three match points: he needs just one, a backhand down the line setting up a wonderful victory.
Auger-Aliassime is up 4-3 and serving in the third set. Rublev needs something to change – instead comes a complete miscue with the forehand, Auger-Aliassime going 30-0 up. An ace down the middle follows and the hold is straightforward. Auger-Aliassime leads 6-5, 6-3, 5-3.
Right, how much fight has Rublev got in him? He came from a set down to beat Auger-Aliassime in the 2024 Madrid Open final. He quickly holds to 15. Auger-Aliassime leads 7-5, 6-3, 3-2.
Swiatek holds to lead 5-3 before Alexandrova double-faults to set up deuce. Oh dear – another double fault hands Swiatek set point. The world No 2 is gifted it, with Alexandrova netting an attempted drop shot. Swiatek takes it 6-3.
It’s 3-3 in the first set between Swiatek and Alexandrova, with the latter serving. Swiatek sees an opportunity at 15-30, launching an electric backhand return on the second serve. And then Alexandrova has a nightmare at the net, setting up for a forehand smash before trying to drop the ball … except it doesn’t go over. Swiatek breaks and leads 4-3 in the first set.
Rublev fails to hold his serve to start the third set. Auger-Aliassime – up 7-5, 6-3, 1-0 – is so very close to his first grand-slam quarter-final since the 2022 Australian Open.
Auger-Aliassime is serving for the second set – and he does so with aplomb, resisting as Rublev launches some flat, fizzing forehands. Auger-Aliassime leads 7-5, 6-3 and Rublev is showing signs of combustion. The Canadian launched 15 winners in that set; Rublev managed four.
Over on Louis Armstrong, it’s 1-1 between Swiatek and Alexandrova, both failing to hold serve.
Rublev, I should remind you, has won seven of his eight meetings against Auger-Aliassime. The 25th seed holds his serve and is up 7-5, 5-2.
Rublev double-faults and we’re at deuce. Auger-Aliassime loves the second serve, stepping inside to wallop a cross-court forehand winner. Rublev, furious with himself, then sends a backhand wide. He smashes his racket into the ground. Auger-Aliassime has the break and leads 7-5, 4-2.
Iga Swiatek is getting ready for battle, up against Ekaterina Alexandrova, the 13th seed, who is yet to drop a set in the tournament. Swiatek leads 4-2 in the career head-to-head.
Auger-Aliassime’s has a chance to get to break point … but he messes up an overhead smash, sending it long. Rublev manages to hold, Auger-Aliassime up 7-5, 2-2.
YO COUSIN!
Auger-Aliassime’s forehand down the line has been joyous to watch. He powers his way to 15-30, but Rublev launches a recovery to hold. Auger-Aliassime leads 7-5, 1-1.
Rublev has a break point in the first game of the second set but Auger-Aliassime leaps at the net to volley and set up deuce. A second break point is saved too, and Auger-Aliassime’s defence comes to the fore in a 23-shot rally that goes his way. He manages to hold, extending his lead to 7-5, 1-0.
Alex de Minaur (8) beats Leandro Riedi 6-3, 6-2, 6-1
De Minaur prevails after an hour and a half, strolling into the last eight. It brings an end to a fine showing by Riedi, who advanced through qualifying to beat the 19th seed Francisco Cerundolo in the second round.
Auger-Aliassime sees an opportunity at 15-30, advancing to the net to sweep a forehand winner and set up two set points. He’s looked so powerful in the last 15 minutes … but he just loses his radar, two forehands going wrong to prompt deuce. A forehand down the line ends a lengthy rally to set up a third set point … and Auger-Aliassime is undone by a second serve that narrowly remains in bounds. But here comes a fourth chance … and it’s taken! Auger-Aliassime peppers the forehands from the backhand corner and is up to the net to take the first set 7-5. Rublev is not a happy chap as he leaves the court for a breather.
Auger-Aliassime is on the attack with his serve, two aces in the game setting him up for a 40-30 lead. A wide forehand from Rublev gives the Canadian a 6-5 lead in the first set.
Elsewhere, De Minaur has taken the second set against Riedi to lead 6-3, 6-2.
A love hold from Auger-Aliassime put him up 5-4 – he’s won 10 points in a row!
Auger-Aliassime is a break down but his serve is still in decent order as he holds. Rublev leads 4-3 in the first set but Auger-Aliassime has an opening at 0-30 after Rublev goes way wide with a backhand. Auger-Aliassime then thumps a forehand return on the second serve down the line to set up three break points. Rublev nets a backhand and that is a quickfire game from Auger-Aliassime, levelling up at 4-4 in the first set.
De Minaur is racing away, up 5-0 in the second set against Riedi and about to serve. Riedi, ranked 435 in the world, has had a fine run to this point but … oh, wait – a spanking forehand sets up a second break point and he takes it, pumping the right fist in relief, a game finally on the board. Nonetheless, De Minaur leads 6-3, 5-1.
Rublev has a break point … and he takes it after Auger-Aliassime goes long with a backhand. Rublev has a 7-1 record against Auger-Aliassime – they last met at Hamburg in May – and he’s up 2-1 in the first set.
De Minaur is looking rather comfortable over on Louis Armstrong. He’s already 3-0 up in the second set against Riedi, breaking the Swiss player’s serve twice. An overhead smash seals the second break.
Felix Auger-Aliassime is here after trumping the third seed Alexander Zverev – this is his first time in the fourth round of the US Open since his run to the semis in 2021. He thunders an ace down to hold his serve and go 1-0 up in the first set against Andrey Rublev.
Alex de Minaur takes the first set against Leandro Riedi 6-4, secured after Riedi goes long with a blasted forehand. The Australian has a peculiar record at the slams, reaching the quarter-finals of all four tournaments. But he’s still waiting for his first semi-final appearance.
Preamble
Hello, hello, hello and welcome to another week at Flushing Meadows. We’ve got more last-16 action in the singles, with eighth seed Alex de Minaur already up and running on Louis Armstrong, facing the Swiss qualifier Leandro Riedi. Iga Swiatek’s clash with Ekaterina Alexandrova will follow.
Felix Auger-Aliassime will open up on Arthur Ashe against Andrey Rublev, but the real eye-catcher is Naomi Osaka’s meeting with Coco Gauff, their first match at a grand slam since the 2020 Australian Open, when a 15-year-old Gauff shocked the defending champion. Here’s to some more drama today.
