CROATIAN 27th seed Borna Coric has come from two breaks down in the fourth set, staring down six match points against fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas to come back and win in a whopping four hours and 36 minutes. Coric won 6-7 6-4 4-6 7-5 7-6 to peg beg a remarkable win from the brink of defeat to now face Australian Jordan Thompson in the fourth round.

There was controversy in the 12th game when Tsitsipas called for a challenge at 0-15 on the baseline, but he had no challenges left. He ironically hit the winning drop shot but due to calling for a challenge, the umpire had no choice but to replay the point, which he lost and went to 0-30. Luckily he held his nerve to win four consecutive points to head into a fifth set tiebreaker. Then the pair went neck-and-neck throughout the tiebreaker, but Tsitsipas’ serve went by the wayside, serving two double faults – after only one in the entire match prior to the tiebreak. He was facing a mini-break down, but then fought back, only for Coric to take another mini-break and then get 6-3 up with three match points. A wild forehand unforced error at 4-6 down flew off the court and Coric celebrated the win.

Thompson and Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina will represent the unseeded contingent in the top half of the US Open men’s draw after winning their respective matches. Thompson downed 90th ranked Mikhail Kukushkin 7-5 6-4 6-1 a couple of days after his Kazakhstan opponent downed 13th seed Cristian Garin in a five-set epic contest. Davidovich Fokina, the lowest ranked player remaining in the half at 99th in the world, defeated Cameron Norrie in four sets, 7-6 4-6 6-2 6-1. He ran away from the contest against the Brit who had a huge scalp of his own this tournament, defeating ninth seed Argentinian Diego Schwartzman on the opening day of play.

The other results were largely predictable with top seed Novak Djokovic skipping through with a third 2020 win over Jan-Lennard Struff. The Serbian won 6-3 6-3 6-1 to book a fourth round clash with Pablo Carreno Busta. The Spanish 20th seed knocked off Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis 6-4 6-3 6-2. Djokovic said he was impressed with the way he played against a quality opponent.

”It was a very good performance from my side. I managed to read his serve well,” Djokovic said post-match. “I found my way, especially after the first set. The second and third sets were a really great feeling on the court.”

“I’ve been playing well the past couple of weeks, training well, focussing on the right things, maintaining that level of performance and hoping for the best. I’m feeling confident about my game and taking that to every match I play.”

Upon learning he would face Carreno Busta, Djokovic said he needed to remain vigilant in his consistency on-court.

“He’s a very solid player, maybe doesn’t possess any big weapons, but every shot is very good,” Djokovic said. “He returns a lot of balls, so I’ve got to be ready for a lot of exchanges. It’s going to be a demanding match physically and mentally. Hopefully I’ll be able to continue the good performance that I had tonight.”

Also in that top quarter of the draw, seventh seed David Goffin locks horn with 12th seed Denis Shapovalov in the match of the day on Sunday. Goffin won in straight sets, 6-1 7-6 6-4 over Serbian 26th seed Filip Krajniovic, while Shapovalov defeated American 19th seed Taylor Fritz 3-6 6-3 4-6 7-6 6-2 in a five-set thriller.

“He was playing incredibly well today and I think we both deserved to win,” Shapovalov said post-match. “It was great tennis and I think I just got a little bit lucky. I stayed with him in the fourth set, when he was in control, and I saw him get a little bit tight. I tried to make him play as much as possible, then I got a little bit lucky on the set point and read it correctly to hit a good forehand. I figured I needed to make a change for the fifth set, and I picked up my intensity and level.”

Meanwhile seventh seed German Alexander Zverev got past Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in four sets, coming from a tiebreak down to win 6-7 6-4 6-2 6-2 and book a spot in the next round. He now takes on Davidovich Fokina in an interesting Round of 16 clash.

Picture: Darren Carroll/USTA