NEW YORK: Jasmine Paolini secured her place in the fourth round of the US Open for the first time, joining Coco Gauff as the only women to reach at least the fourth round in every Grand Slam of 2024. Paolini, the fifth seed from Italy, defeated No. 30 seed Yulia Putintseva 6-3, 6-4 on Saturday. Having previously only reached the second round in 16 major appearances, Paolini now looks forward to facing 2023 French Open finalist Karolina Muchova.
Sixth seed Jessica Pegula also advanced to the fourth round, overpowering Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-3, 6-3. Bouzas Maneiro struggled with 29 unforced errors and only five winners in the match.
In the men’s draw, Tomas Machac reached the fourth round of a major for the first time with a 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 victory over David Goffin. Karolina Muchova made a strong return to Grand Slam action, defeating Anastasia Potapova 6-4, 6-2 after recovering from wrist surgery.
In notable upsets, Novak Djokovic’s bid for a 25th Grand Slam title ended with a third-round loss to Alexei Popyrin, 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. This marks Djokovic’s earliest US Open exit in 18 years and the first time since 2002 that no member of the “Big Three” — Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, or Roger Federer — has won a major in a calendar year.
In other matches, Frances Tiafoe defeated Ben Shelton 4-6, 7-5, 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 6-3; Taylor Fritz won against Francisco Comesana 6-3, 6-4, 6-2; and Alexander Zverev survived a marathon match against Tomas Martin Etcheverry, 5-7, 7-5, 6-1, 6-3, which ended at 2:35 a.m. — the second latest finish in US Open history.
Andrey Rublev advanced with a 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 win over Jiri Lehecka, while eighth-seeded Casper Ruud came back from two sets down to defeat Shang Juncheng 6-7 (1/7), 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-1. Aryna Sabalenka overcame a late start to defeat Ekaterina Alexandrova 2-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Victoria Azarenka fell to Wang Yafan 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, and American Emma Navarro beat Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
