Second seed Dominic Thiem edged a first-set tiebreak before turning up the heat to romp into the US Open quarterfinals with a resounding 7-6(4), 6-1, 6-1 victory over Canadian youngster Felix Augur-Aliassime at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday.
Top seed Novak Djokovic’s disqualification on Sunday for striking a line judge with a ball has left Thiem as one of the favourites and the Austrian gave a composed performance to reach the last eight in New York for the second time in his career.
He was helped in his quest for a maiden Grand Slam title by a below-par performance from the talented Augur-Aliassime, who beat Andy Murray in round two but was well off the pace against Thiem, making 51 unforced errors versus the second seed's 24.
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After a cagey opening, Thiem drew first blood, breaking his 20-year-old opponent to take a 3-2 lead in the first set after a pair of unforced errors by Augur-Aliassime.
Thiem consolidated with a hold to love, but stumbled in the 10th game, opening with a double fault and offering two break points after a couple of loose backhands before surrendering his serve with another error to allow his opponent to draw level.
Augur-Aliassime started the tiebreak with an ace, but Thiem regained the initiative to open up a 3-1 lead and sealed the set after the Canadian's 24th unforced error.
Thiem won 74% of his first serve points and was near flawless at the net, while also sending down 22 winners as he wrapped up the contest in a shade over two hours.
Next up for the 26-year-old is a quarterfinal clash with Australian youngster Alex de Minaur, who he has beaten in both of their previous meetings, including in the opening round at Flushing Meadows three years ago.
De Minaur, Rublev progress to last eight
Australian 21st seed Alex de Minaur beat Canada's Vasek Pospisil 7-6(6) 6-3 6-2 to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
De Minaur, 21, kept his composure to save four set points in the first set tiebreak and although Pospisil fired 43 winners in the match to De Minaur's 16, the Canadian also had 48 unforced errors.
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Andrey Rublev delved into his mental notes from last year's defeat by Matteo Berrettini to turn the tables on his Italian opponent in a replay of their US Open fourth-round meeting on Monday.
Rublev rallied from the loss of the opening set to seal a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 victory over the sixth seed in what was a stark contrast to last year's encounter at the same stage where the Russian was outclassed in straight sets.
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