Second seed Dominic Thiem set up an exciting clash 20-year-old Canadian hotshot Felix Auger-Aliassime for a place in the quarter-finals a...
Second seed Dominic Thiem set up an exciting clash 20-year-old Canadian hotshot Felix Auger-Aliassime for a place in the quarter-finals at the US Open.
The world No 3 said he must raise his game if he is to win a first Grand Slam after ousting Marin Cilic in four sets to move into the last 16 Saturday. The 27-year-old Austrian, the losing finalist in the Australian Open this year, battled to a 6-2, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory in the late match at an empty Arthur Ashe stadium.
“I felt a little bit flat,” said Thiem, explaining his labors in sets three and four. “It’s normal, it’s really late, (and) without the crowd,” he added.
“I still have to raise my level if I want to go deeper,” he explained.
Auger-Aliassime, the 15th seed, blew away France’s Corentin Moutet 6-1, 6-0, 6-4 in just an hour and 57 mins, becoming the first player born in the 2000s to reached a Grand Slam fourth round.
“Dominic has been getting stronger and stronger year after year,” said Auger-Aliassime.
“You feel like step by step he’s been reaching later stages of these tournaments, really becoming like a power in the tennis world. For me, it would be a good matchup,” he added.
Auger-Aliassime was joined in round four by 94th-ranked compatriot...
