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MEN'S UPDATE, DAY 9: Auger-Aliassime into US Open last eight, De Minaur routs Riedi

rugby01 September 2025 02:33| © AFP
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Felix Auger-Aliassime © Gallo Images

Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Andrey Rublev in straight sets at the US Open on Monday as the Canadian 25th seed reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal in three years.

Order of Play

Auger-Aliassime retrieved a break in the first set before seizing control against the 15th-ranked Rublev, triumphing 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 for just his second win over the Russian in nine attempts.

The 25-year-old Auger-Aliassime backed up his win over third seed Alexander Zverev in the previous round and will play Australia's Alex de Minaur in the last eight.

Auger-Aliassime climbed as high as sixth in the world at the end of 2022 but had not made it to a major quarterfinal since that year's Australian Open.

His deepest run at a Grand Slam came when he advanced to the semifinals of the US Open four years ago.

"It feels even better than the first time," Auger-Aliassime said of returning to the last eight in New York.

"I think the first time at 21 I was kind of on my way up. To have a few setbacks, injuries, struggles with confidence... to come back for a second time to the quarterfinals here, it feels much better.

"It feels more deserved. I'm soaking in every moment here."

DE MINAUR ROUTS RIEDI

Australian eighth seed Alex de Minaur powered into the quarterfinals with a straight-sets rout of Swiss qualifier Leandro Riedi.

De Minaur, who also reached the US Open quarterfinals last year, cruised to victory 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 in one hour 33 minutes.

Riedi, whose world ranking has plummeted to 435th after undergoing two knee surgeries in the past 12 months, was never in contention against the skilful De Minaur.

The 26-year-old Aussie broke Riedi eight times and took advantage of 39 unforced errors by his opponent to wrap up a clinical win.

De Minaur has reached five Grand Slam quarterfinals before but never managed to progress beyond the last eight.

"I'm super proud of what I'm doing," De Minaur said. "Ultimately this is where I want to be -- I want to be playing for big titles, I want to be in contention.

"I'm putting myself in the right places and back in the quarter-finals. I'm going to go out there and have a swing."

MUSETTI SWEEPS INTO FIRST US OPEN QUARTERFINAL

Lorenzo Musetti cruised into a first US Open quarterfinal with a 6-3, 6-0, 6-1 win over unseeded Spaniard Jaume Munar.

Italian 10th seed Musetti won 14 of the final 15 games and dropped only five points in the second set in a 97-minute rout of world number 44 Munar.

"I played probably one of the best sets of my life so far in the second set," said Musetti.

"I wasn't missing. It's really nice to have this sensation on the court."

The 23-year-old goes on to face Auger-Aliassime as he bids to reach a third Grand Slam semifinal.

He made the last four at Roland Garros this year and at Wimbledon in 2024.

"Honestly the last month has been terrible," said Musetti, who lost in the first round at Wimbledon in July and won just once in three hard-court events ahead of the US Open.

"I was a little bit sad about my tennis," he said.

"You have a lot of ups and downs. You have to stay there, be there mentally, and that's what I've done in the last couple weeks and I'm really proud of myself."

'AI-GENERATED' SINNER TERMINATES BUBLIK TO REACH US OPEN QUARTERS

World No 1 Jannik Sinner demolished big-serving Alexander Bublik to storm into the quarterfinals.

Defending champion Sinner needed just 81 minutes to administer a brutal 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 drubbing to reach the last eight.

Bublik – who described Sinner as "like an AI-generated player" shortly before walking onto the Arthur Ashe Stadium court – embraced the Italian after the drubbing, and could be heard exclaiming: "You're so good, this is insane."

"I felt like today I was playing some great tennis, and I managed to break him very early, which gave me then the confidence to serve a little bit better and play from the back of the court a bit better," said Sinner.

The top seed steered clear of questioning Bublik's effort during a match in which he made two underarm serves and racked up 13 double faults.

"Sometimes we have days off where certain things doesn't work," he said. "Some players, they have some problems behind the scenes, you never know.

"Obviously people come here to see some great tennis matches, some great battles, and not always that's the case."

Kazakh 23rd seed Bublik had advanced to Monday's last 16 clash without dropping a single service game in his three previous rounds, a remarkable 55-game unbroken streak.

But the 6ft 5in 28-year-old's previously impregnable serve was systematically ransacked by the imperious Sinner, who is chasing his third Grand Slam title of the season in New York.

Sinner went on the offensive in the opening game of the first set, breaking Bublik immediately to set the tone for what would be a lopsided masterclass.

The Italian went on to break Bublik seven more times over the rest of the match as he sauntered into a last eight meeting with 10th-seeded compatriot Lorenzo Musetti.

The one-sided nature of the defeat prompted sympathy from the crowd in the third set, who cheered loudly when Bublik merely won a point as Sinner marched relentlessly towards the finish line.

Even Bublik himself found humour in being so comprehensively outgunned, raising clenched fists in delight after successfully holding serve in the fifth game of the third set.

Sinner is aiming to become the first man to successfully defend the US Open crown since Roger Federer won the last of five consecutive titles in 2008.

The top-ranked Italian has won the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles this season but lost to Carlos Alcaraz in a gruelling five-set battle in the French Open final.

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