Superb Auger-Aliassime ends Zverev's bid for elusive major

Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime says the quality he produced to stun German third seed Alexander Zverev in the US Open fourth round did not simply "fall out of the sky".

Auger-Aliassime's bold attacking approach paid off as he fought back to win 4-6 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 6-4 in New York.

The 25-year-old had not previously beaten a top-five ranked opponent in seven attempts at a major tournament.

But his game - booming serve, vicious groundstrokes and supreme athleticism - knitted together to end Zverev's latest bid for an elusive Grand Slam title.

"In practice I felt like I was doing things really well. Mentally, [I've had] more clarity in my game and how I want to play," Auger-Aliassime said.

"A performance like this doesn't fall out of the sky.

"But you never know also when you're going to play that level on any given day."

Many people in the game judge 28-year-old Zverev as the best player of recent generations without a major title to his name.

Identified as a future star in his teenage years, when he followed his older brother Mischa around the ATP Tour, he has gone close by reaching three major finals.

Despite his pedigree, he has not got over the line - most notably when he blew a two-set lead in the 2020 US Open final - and still appears to lack belief against the very best at the business end of Grand Slam tournaments.

In a bid to solve the issue, Zverev recently enlisted the help of Toni Nadal - who coached his nephew Rafael to 16 of his 22 Grand Slam titles.

A trip to Nadal's academy in Majorca followed Zverev's first-round exit at Wimbledon, where he opened up about receiving psychological help to get "out of the hole" he was in.

Afterwards, Nadal told BBC Sport he tried to instil the belief into Zverev that he could beat the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic if he faced them in New York.

Instead it was Auger-Aliassime - who ironically was coached by Nadal between 2021 and 2024 - who prolonged Zverev's wait for the prize he desires.

Former world number six Auger-Aliassime faces Russian 15th seed Andrey Rublev in the fourth round on Monday.

Meanwhile, 23rd seed Alexander Bublik set up a meeting with defending champion Jannik Sinner after again taking advantage of a home favourite's physical ailments.

Kazakhstan's Bublik, whose previous opponent Ben Shelton retired with a shoulder injury, knocked out 14th seed Tommy Paul in a thrilling 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 win ending at 1:15am local time.

Paul had spent almost three tournament hours more on court than Bublik, having come through another late-night thriller against Portugal's Nuno Borges two days earlier, and could barely move during the final set.

"I'd like to wish Ben and Tommy the best recovery because they're close friends and it was a pity to see them like this," said Bublik, who has won all of his 55 service games during the tournament.

While Zverev became increasingly frustrated as he was unable to problem solve, six-time major champion Iga Swiatek showed in her third-round match what it takes to come through adversity.

Swiatek, 24, trailed 5-1 in the opening set against Russia's Anna Kalinskaya before readjusting to win 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 in Saturday's night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"It's not easy sometimes to find the solutions and the exact thing that will help you," Swiatek, who plays Russia's 13th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova next, said.

"You need to have your mind open enough to think about what can you do.

"Today was a pretty good day in terms of that, because at 5-1 it's easy to panic and I didn't."

Trusting her natural ability, and the work she is doing with coach Wim Fissette to further improve, has also been the key to Swiatek turning around her season.

After a slump by her lofty standards at the start of the year, the former long-time world number one started the final major of the season as most people's pick for the trophy.

The recently crowned Wimbledon champion, who won the US Open in 2022, underlined her credentials on the American hard courts with victory at the Cincinnati Open.

Swiatek was far from her best against 29th seed Kalinskaya, with a low serve percentage particularly damaging, and her relief was demonstrated by an animated celebration.

"I'm happy that I came back, kept being positive and figured it out," Swiatek added.

In the other night-session match, Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia made light work of Greece's Maria Sakkari after the pair took to court at 11:15pm local time.

Haddad Maia, seeded 18th, moved fast to wrap up a 6-1 6-2 victory, booking a last-16 match with Wimbledon runner-up Amanda Anisimova.