Sinner serves it hot for Rd 3 win

Jannik Sinner. Pic/AFP

Jannik Sinner avoided plunging through the US Open trapdoor which claimed Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz when he stormed into the last 16 on Saturday.

Australian Open champion Sinner raced past 87th-ranked Christopher O'Connell 6-1, 6-4, 6-2. The 23-year-old Italian's win came a day after four-time champion Djokovic was sent spinning to his earliest loss in New York in 18 years by Alexei Popyrin.

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One day earlier, 2022 winner Alcaraz was defeated in the second round by Dutch journeyman Botic van de Zandschulp. "I knew I had to play very solid. My serve worked well so I am happy with my performance," said Sinner after firing 15 aces in his 46 winners past outclassed O'Connell of Australia.

Sinner will take on 14th seed Tommy Paul for a quarter-final place after the American defeated Canadian qualifier Gabriel Diallo in four sets.

With Djokovic and Alcaraz heading home to Europe, Daniil Medvedev finds himself as the only former champion left in the men's tournament.

The eccentric Russian, seeded five, swept past Flavio Cobolli, the World No. 31 from Italy, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3. He'll face unseeded Nuno Borges of Portugal who saved three match points in a five-set triumph over Czech teenager Jakub Mensik.

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