US Open

Top seeds Sinner and Swiatek in the round of 16

Jannik Sinner

(Bild: AP)

Top seeds Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek are through to the last 16 at the US Open. Sinner escaped the fate of an early exit like his main rivals Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz with a 6:1, 6:4, 6:2 win over Australian Christopher O'Connell.

He will now face the American Tommy Paul (No. 14), who usually plays well in his home country. Swiatek won 6:4, 6:2 against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Now another Russian, Lyudmila Samsonova (18), awaits. 

"Great match"
"It was a great match. My serve was really good, I'm very happy," said Sinner. The South Tyrolean didn't concede a single break point in the entire match, thanks to a strong service performance with 15 aces. The 23-year-old wasn't expecting a self-runner on the way to his first US Open triumph. "Anything can happen in this sport. I try to stay on my side of the net," emphasized Sinner. Should he triumph in Flushing Meadows, it would be his second major success after the Australian Open at the beginning of the year.

The match against O'Connell was his third sporting appearance after the doping scandal surrounding him came to light. Following two positive tests for the banned anabolic steroid Clostebol in March, the Italian was acquitted by an independent court shortly before the US Open, according to the tennis agency responsible (ITIA). Sinner's explanation that the banned substance had accidentally entered his body through a massage was considered conclusive.

Swiatek aims for a double
Swiatek is aiming for her second US Open victory since 2022. Against Pavlyuchenkova, she once again showed that she never gives up a ball, even when clearly in the lead. "I just wanted to concentrate on myself. Because she plays very powerfully and also served well," she praised the clearly inferior player. Swiatek recognizes in herself that she now plays with more variability than before and also attributes this to her coach Tomasz Wiktorowski. "But I can still improve in all areas," said the 23-year-old, who is the clear leader in the world rankings.

Alex de Minaur (10) also made it into the last 16 in the fourth Grand Slam of the year with a 6:3, 6:7(4), 6:0, 6:0 win over the physically impaired Brit Daniel Evans after the second set. The last Australian to do so was Lleyton Hewitt in 2004. De Minaur will play his compatriot Jordan Thompson for a place in the quarter-finals; like Novak Djokovic's conqueror Alexei Popyrin, they both come from Sydney. Daniil Medvedev (5) also made it safely into the round of 16, the Russian defeating Italy's Flavio Cobolli (31) 6:3, 6:4, 6:3.

From the Austrian perspective, Alexander Erler was the last entry to bow out. In the 2nd doubles round, he and Dutchman Matwe Midelkoop suffered a 3-6, 6-7(5) defeat against the top-seeded Spanish-Argentine pairing of Marcel Granollers/Horacio Zeballos. Incidentally, 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams paid a visit to the tournament on Saturday for the first time since her return two years ago.