US Open: Third seed Alexander Zverev crashes out; Jannik Sinner keeps title defence alive

Third seed Alexander Zverev’s US Open campaign came to an abrupt end on Saturday as the German star was bundled out in the third round by Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime in a four-set thriller.Zverev, the 2020 runner-up at Flushing Meadows, started strong and even held a set point in the second set, but failed to convert as Auger-Aliassime roared back to claim a 4-6, 7-6 (9/7), 6-4, 6-4 victory after three hours and 48 minutes of gripping tennis.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The result marked Zverev’s earliest US Open exit since 2018, compounding a difficult season that also saw him crash out of Wimbledon in the first round — his shortest Grand Slam campaign in six years.For Auger-Aliassime, the triumph was a statement win. The 25th seed, who reached the semi-finals at the US Open in 2021, defeated a top-five player at a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.
“This feels good. I’ve been coming here since 2018. I’m still young, it’s been a few years but I’m working my way,” Auger-Aliassime said. “The tournament’s still going, the job’s not done but this means a lot to me.”Auger-Aliassime will next face Russian 15th seed Andrey Rublev in Monday’s fourth round.Elsewhere, defending champion Jannik Sinner kept his title defence alive with a comeback win over Canada’s Denis Shapovalov. After dropping the opening set, Sinner rallied to win 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. “I was in a very difficult moment… I just tried to stay there mentally,” said the world number one, who now awaits either Tommy Paul or Alexander Bublik.In the women’s draw, Iga Swiatek showed grit to recover from 1-5 down in the first set and oust Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya 7-6 (7/2), 6-4, while American favourite Coco Gauff cruised past Magdalena Frech to set up a blockbuster last-16 clash with former champion Naomi Osaka.