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#NextGenATP American Ben Shelton continued to light up the US Open on Friday when he soared past Aslan Karatsev to reach the fourth round in New York for the first time.

The 20-year-old, who fell in the first round on debut at the hard-court major last year, fired his lefty serve with power and precision to overcome Karatsev 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 6-0. He struck 26 aces, including one registered at 147mph, the fastest serve of the tournament, to advance after two hours and 20 minutes.

"I am really pleased with my performance today," said Shelton, who won 86 per cent of his first-serve points. "Happy with the way I served. I think it was one of my best serving days ever. I think I had the most aces I have had in a match and it was the day after John Isner played his last match, it is kind of weird. Maybe he left some of his serving magic out for me, so thanks Johnny."

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Shelton will aim to reach his second major quarter-final when he meets countryman Tommy Paul in the fourth round. The 20-year-old advanced to the last eight at the Australian Open earlier this year when he lost to Paul in four sets.

American Tommy Paul advanced to the fourth round at the US Open for the first time on Friday when he overcame Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-1, 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The home favourite, who rallied from two sets down against Roman Safiullin in the first round, produced a dominant display during the opening two sets to take control against an out-of-sorts Spaniard. The 14th seed then recovered from a brief mid-match dip, regaining his level in the fourth set to advance after two hours and 20 minutes.

Paul was consistent from the baseline off both wings against Davidovich Fokina, who struggled to find his usual dynamic game throughout the third-round clash. The Spaniard committed 44 unforced errors compared to 27 from Paul, while the American struck 12 more winners (39-27).

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With his victory, Paul improved to 3-0 in his ATP Head2Head series against the 21st seed. The 26-year-old, who advanced to the semi-finals at the Australian Open earlier this year, will aim to continue his run against Ben Shelton or Aslan Karatsev.

Jack Sock’s career came to a close on Thursday at the US Open, where he lost his first-round men’s doubles match with John Isner and opening mixed doubles match with Coco Gauff.

It has been 13 years since Sock played his first US Open as a professional in 2010 and the American has accomplished plenty since. To honour Sock, ATPTour.com looks at five notable stats from his illustrious career.

Jack Reached The Top 10 Singles & Doubles
Sock cracked the Top 10 in both the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings. In November 2017 he reached a career-high World No. 8 in singles and in September 2018 he ascended to World No. 2 in doubles.

The Nebraska-native spent several weeks in the Top 20 of both disciplines simultaneously. The American also earned the distinction of finishing the 2017 season as the No. 1 player from his country.

American Won An ATP Masters 1000 Title To Qualify For Nitto ATP Finals
The defining moment of Sock’s singles career came at the end of 2017. He entered the Rolex Paris Masters, the season’s final ATP Masters 1000 tournament, at 24th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To London (the Nitto ATP Finals was played in London at the time).

Daniil Medvedev will go to bed in the wee hours of Friday morning glad that he navigated through a late-night test in the US Open second round.

The third seed defeated Australian Christopher O’Connell 6-2, 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-2 to capture his 250th hard-court victory and reach the third round of the season’s final major, where he was crowned champion in 2021. Medvedev had two match points at 6/4 in the third-set tie-break before the 29-year-old O’Connell won four consecutive points, two of which were double faults from the World No. 3.

Aiming for his second major title this fortnight, Medvedev was nearly at his best in the opening two sets, displaying all-court coverage and pinning O’Connell with depth on his groundstrokes. Medvedev did not give up a point behind his first serve until 4-1, 40/15 in the second set. But a third-set surge from the Sydney native forced the World No. 3 to regain focus and stay on court until 1:10 a.m. to reach the third round.

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“Tough match. I don’t know why, but at one moment in the match he decided to play better,” joked Medvedev in his on-court interview. “I played the same from the first point to the last. It became much tougher for me, so I’m happy that I was able to still hang in there. I had opportunities in the third set, and I managed to use them in the fourth.”

Everything was going well for Benjamin Bonzi until it wasn’t.

The Frenchman reached a career-high No. 42 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings this February after making his first ATP Tour final in Pune. He then advanced to another championship clash in Marseille, but everything changed two months later.

At the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, Bonzi was playing Stefanos Tsitsipas when disaster struck. “I felt a big flash in the wrist,” while hitting a backhand, he told ATPTour.com

Right away, Bonzi knew he would be out for an extended period of time. The native of Nimes, France had suffered a left wrist injury and retired in the first set of the match. He missed the rest of the clay-court season.

“I did six weeks of immobilisation on the wrist. You're pretty excited to take things off and to go back on the court. But you don't really know when you're going to be really ready to play your game and to feel confident again,” Bonzi said. “Maybe I wasn't expecting to be ready after this long time.”

Two years ago, Jakub Mensik and his coach, Tomas Josefus, were in New York for the first time. Mensik qualified for the US Open boys’ singles event and reached the third round of the main draw. It was an invaluable experience, but one off-court memory sticks out.

Josefus remembers watching with his charge on television an 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz upset Stefanos Tsitsipas in a final-set tie-break.

“Carlos, at that moment, he was only 18, a little bit older than Jakub,” Josefus recalled. “We said, ‘Wow, he's so good in this age.’”

On Friday Mensik turns 18 and it is the Czech making waves at Flushing Meadows. The teen will play No. 1 American Taylor Fritz for a place in the fourth round of the US Open. For those who have not seen him play before, expect the 6’4” Czech to come out firing.

“I'm very tall. I have a little bit [of an] advantage over other guys,” Mensik said. “So with my big serve and also with my aggressive position on the court, I feel very comfortable.”

Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek rallied from a set down Thursday at the US Open to keep alive their hopes for a second major title.

The second seeds, who won Roland Garros this year, defeated Spaniards Roberto Carballes Baena and Bernabe Zapata Miralles 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in the opening round at Flushing Meadows after fending off eight of nine break points faced. The Croatian-American team will next face Stefanos Tsitsipas and Petros Tsitsipas after the Greek duo downed Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela and David Vega Hernandez 7-6(2), 6-4. 

Also in doubles action Thursday, top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski overcame home hopes Christopher Eubanks and Ben Shelton 7-5, 7-6(5). Wimbledon champions Koolhof and Skupski dropped just three points behind their first delivery.

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Robert Galloway and Albano Olivetti sent John Isner and Jack Sock into retirement after defeating the Americans 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(3). 

Carlos Alcaraz passed his first true test of the 2023 US Open Thursday night, defeating spirited South African Lloyd Harris 6-3, 6-1, 7-6(4). 

Alcaraz received a second-set retirement from Dominik Kopefer (ankle) in his opening match, but got the opportunity to stress test his game against the powerful 26-year-old.

Forehand firing? Check. Defensive skills sharp? Check. Creativity and smiles flowing? Check. Fans entertained? Check. Check. Check.

"I played a great match from the beginning of the match until the last ball,” Alcaraz said. “If I have to pick out something I think I played a good second set without many mistakes and playing my game.”

The youngest US Open top seed in tournament history, Alcaraz defended nine of 10 break points faced and recovered from being a break down midway through the third set.

Stan Wawrinka rolled back the years Thursday at the US Open to survive a baseline slugfest against 30th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

Wawrinka, who lifted the trophy at Flushing Meadows in 2016, displayed vintage firepower and pristine fitness as he battled past the Argentine 7-6(6), 6-7(7), 6-3, 6-2 after three hours, 39 minutes. From the start, both players treated fans to a thrilling contest, no better example than in the third game when the 38-year-old Swiss ripped a forehand passing shot to seal the longest rally of the tournament (35 shots).

The three-time major champion stayed consistent from the back of court and despite relinquishing a set point in the second-set tie-break, he maintained focus to improve to 2-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with the Agrentine, whom he also beat in the second round of Wimbledon. Wawrinka broke Etcheverry's serve to love in the sixth game of the third set before cruising to the finish line, striking 47 winners to set a blockbuster third-round clash against sixth seed Jannik Sinner.

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Making his 16th appearance at the season's final major, Wawrinka is the oldest man to reach the US Open third round since a 39-year-old Jimmy Connors was a semi-finalist in 1991.

Novak Djokovic has dominated the ATP Tour's hard courts throughout his career, and the past 52 weeks are no exception for the 36-year-old.

Across a run that includes titles at the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals and the 2023 Australian Open, the Serbian has posted a tour-leading 91.9 per cent win rate (34-3) on the surface during that span. He also won hard-court titles in Tel Aviv and Astana last year as well as at the Adelaide 1 event to start the current season.

View the full hard-court leaderboard, courtesy of Infosys ATP Stats.

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While he missed the North American hard-court swing last year, Djokovic is set to return for the ATP Masters 1000 in Cincinnati later this month — his first scheduled tour-level appearance since the Wimbledon final.

When Laslo Djere walks on the court inside Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday for his third-round US Open match against Novak Djokovic, he will face one of the biggest challenges in all of sports.

Djokovic has won more major titles — 23 — than any man in tennis history and the 36-year-old has not lost before the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament since 2016. But any challenge he faces on court is incomparable to the obstacles he has overcome off it.

By the age of 23, Djere had lost his mother, Hajnalka and father, Caba, to cancer. Since then, he has persevered and played the best tennis of his life. Continuing to push forward, he has earned opportunities to show his talent on the world’s biggest stages, just like he will against Djokovic.

“I don't want to go too sentimental or sound smart. Everybody has ups and downs and tough moments in life, but I think that's how life is,” Djere told ATPTour.com. “Some are less fortunate than others. Some are more fortunate. Every person has their own story I'm sure.

“It's important that you believe in your goals, your vision, yourself and you don't let things or some other factors that you can't control — or even sometimes you can, but didn't go your way — affect you on your road to that goal... Just keep going no matter what.”

Andy Murray was not only disappointed Thursday because he lost at the US Open. The former World No. 1 was discouraged by how he lost, winning only eight games against 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion Grigor Dimitrov.

“It’s obviously disappointing to not play how you would like. But maybe I need to accept that, these events, I had the deep runs and everything that I felt like I'm capable of, they might not be there, as well,” Murray said. “I'm aware what I'm doing, it's unbelievably challenging to play at the highest level as I am now. And some days it's harder than others. But yeah, today is obviously a really disappointing defeat and probably [because of] the manner of it as well.

“I fought hard enough, but just didn't play well enough. Ultimately these are the events that you want to play your best tennis in, and create more great moments and didn't do that this year.”

Murray, who is 13-12 this season, lost by the third round in all three majors he played this year (he did not compete at Roland Garros). The 36-year-old showed good form at Wimbledon, but ultimately fell in a tough five-setter to Stefanos Tsitsipas. In New York, he never was able to battle his way into the match against Dimitrov.

“I think when you don't play well, obviously it's frustrating. But it can happen. At the highest level if you don't play to a high enough level, it's very hard to win,” Murray said. “Whereas at Wimbledon, obviously when you're playing at a good level and potentially had a good draw there and everything, that's tougher to take.”

John Isner's retirement ends a recurring on-court nightmare for his colleagues on the ATP Tour, who were aced a collective 14,450 times by the American throughout his career. In his final singles match against Michael Mmoh Thursday at the US Open, he fired 48 aces. But no one will be happy to see the all-time ace leader leave.

The 38-year-old has been the ultimate professional since leaving the University of Georgia in 2007, stretching his 6-foot-10 frame to its limits as a stalwart of the game. The No. 1 American in the year-end Pepperstone ATP Rankings for eight of nine years from 2012-20, Isner was also inside the year-end Top 20 for the entirety of the 2010s. He finishes his career with 489 wins among the top 60 in ATP Tour history, bowing out to Mmoh in a fifth-set tie-break.

“Being the top American, I don't know how many years it was, just maintaining my ranking for a very long time, is something I'm very proud of,” said Isner prior to the final event of his career, the 2023 US Open. “I took great pride in the preparation it took day in, day out, year after year after year. I really truly enjoyed that.

“I think I've overachieved. I never imagined myself having this much success for this long… Of course, there's so many matches I wish I could have back, but I prepared in my mind as best as I possibly could for 17 years. I don't have many regrets, that's for sure.”

Gracious and thoughtful both in the press and with his peers, Isner always carried a sense of humour about his serve-dominant game. He was also generous with his time, which will now be spent in his Dallas home alongside his wife Madison and their four young children.

Former US Open finalist Alexander Zverev boosted his Nitto ATP Finals qualification chances on Thursday, where he overcame German Daniel Altmaier 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in New York.

The German is currently eighth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin (2,760) and knows a deep run at the hard-court major will increase his hopes of qualifying for an event he has won twice (2018, '21).

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After cruising through his first match in straight sets, Zverev raised his level when needed against Altmaier, striking 48 winners to improve to 41-20 on the season. The 12th seed will next face Grigor Dimitrov after the Bulgarian defeated Andy Murray 6-3, 6-4, 6-1.

Zverev reached the title match in New York in 2020, before he enjoyed a semi-final run in his previous appearance in 2021. He missed last year’s event due to an ankle injury he suffered at Roland Garros in 2022.

Jack Draper stepped up his return to Tour on Thursday with a statement win against World No. 17 Hubert Hurkacz at the US Open.

The Briton retired in the second round in Winston-Salem last week in his first tournament back on Tour after three months out with a shoulder injury. However, the 21-year-old has shown little sign of discomfort in New York, backing up his opening-round win against Radu Albot with a 6-2, 6-4, 7-5 triumph against Hurkacz.

"I feel physically good. I haven't had match exposure for a long time, so I'm still sort of managing my body," Draper said. "Still getting a little bit sore. Obviously it's a Grand Slam, as well. You have to push your body and know that if you need to go four or five sets, you need to be ready. And I was today. I feel good.

"With regards to my shoulder, I'm kind of looking after it each day. It was a bit sore after my last match but when the adrenaline kicks in and obviously playing the US Open, so, you know, just put it out of my mind and go out and try my best to play the tennis I want to."

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Jannik Sinner improved to a perfect 10 wins from 10 meetings against fellow Italians with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Lorenzo Sonego to reach the third round of the US Open Thursday.

The World No. 6 was rock solid on serve, dropping just 10 points on serve and not offering up any break point chances. He also continued to back himself at net, winning 21 from 24 net approaches. He has found himself at net 50 times in two matches this fortnight.

“We work a lot, me and my team, trying to push myself forward and I feel like my game has improved a little bit," Sinner said. "I feel more comfortable at the net and this is a new thing of mine. Hopefully I can also show this in the future."

Many fans are looking ahead to a quarter-final re-match between Sinner and top seed Carlos Alcaraz, who last year saved a match point to deny the Italian in the last eight en route to his maiden Grand Slam title.

But the 22-year-old knows that much works is still to be done in the next two rounds to book a date with the World No. 1. Sinner next faces the winner of Stan Wawrinka and Yoshihito Nishioka and could face 12th seed Alexander Zverev in the fourth round.

Following early upsets at the US Open, three Americans — Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe — have a big opportunity to make a move in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin.

Fritz reached the semi-finals at last year's Nitto ATP Finals, while his countrymen have an opportunity to move into qualifying position with a big run at the season's final major.

Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin

Fritz will play Jakub Mensik on the Czech's 18th birthday Friday and if he wins, would not face a seeded opponent in the fourth round. Second seed Novak Djokovic is his projected quarter-final opponent.

Two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev is in ninth place, just 35 points behind Fritz, putting him in a similar position to the American. The German has reached the semi-finals and final in his past two US Open appearances.

Editor's note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es

Argentina currently boasts seven players in the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, with three of them in the Top 35. That high-flying trio are Francisco Cerundolo, Sebastian Baez and Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

All are members of the same generation at 25, 22 and 24 years of age respectively. This is something of a blessing; they drive each other to improve as they aim to take their country to the pinnacle of the sport and create an exciting brood of young players.

“I’m happy when my peers do well,” said Baez after coming through the first round at the US Open, where he saw off 27th seed Borna Coric. “It’s always motivating, and I think it’s mutual. When one does well, the other feels like it could happen to him too. That healthy competition is very good. It’s really good feedback. I always wish everyone the best, even more so when I’ve been around them since I was 12.

“Each of us is concentrating on our own thing, [but] when one of us does well, we congratulate each other. We’re happy that the other is doing well.”

Novak Djokovic is well aware of the guts, determination and mental resilience required to secure Grand Slam glory.

Those are qualities the 23-time major champion sees in Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff. His own on-court positivity was praised by both WTA stars Wednesday at the US Open, and Djokovic then took the chance to reflect on Swiatek and Gauff’s respective strengths after his second-round victory against Bernabe Zapata Miralles in New York.

“Iga has been dominating the women's game last couple of years, she is a multiple Grand Slam winner. I love her devotion and dedication,” said Djokovic of WTA No. 1 Swiatek, who won her maiden US Open crown in 2022. “Maybe she's too humble to say, too modest to say, but she's got a great fighting spirit, no doubt. She's a warrior, goes out there and doesn't give a single game.

“She has probably the most bagels of anyone in women's tennis the last few years. It speaks about how seriously and professionally she's taking every single point and game on the court. So that's very admirable. I really like that kind of champion spirit and mindset.”

The 19-year-old Gauff is chasing her maiden major title this fortnight in New York, where this year she arrived fresh from lifting the biggest single’s title of her career in Cincinnati.

Zhang Zhizhen earned the biggest win of his career Wednesday when he outlasted World No. 5 Casper Ruud in five sets at the US Open.

The Chinese star survived a thrilling back-and-forth encounter, upsetting last year’s finalist Ruud 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 0-6, 6-2 after three hours, 18 minutes.

Zhang delivered an inspired performance, striking 59 winners to become the first Chinese man to earn a Top 5 win since the beginning of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings (1973). The World No. 67, who also needed five sets to get past J.J. Wolf in the opening round, will next face Australian Rinky Hijikata in the third round.

More to follow...