New York, USA, 1 September 2024 | Dan Imhoff and Rhys de Deugd

Jordan Thompson is not allowing the letdown of narrowly missing out on his first Grand Slam seeding gain the better of him after seeing off Italian Matteo Arnaldi to reach the US Open fourth round.

The 30-year-old carried his momentum to a second successive defeat of a seeded opponent on the back of his straight-sets upset of seventh-seeded Pole Hubert Hurkacz.

Thompson’s 7-5 6-2 7-6(5) victory equalled his career-best run at a major – a fourth-round finish at the 2020 US Open – and improved his record in Grand Slam third rounds to 2-2.

Following Davis Cup teammate Alexei Popyrin’s career-best triumph over reigning champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday, it heralds the second year running that Australia boasts two men in the round of 16 in New York after Rinky Hijikata and Alex de Minaur in 2023.

Should 10^th seed De Minaur fend off Brit Dan Evans to book an all-Australian showdown with Thompson it would pit three Australian men into the third round at Flushing Meadows for the first time since 1988.

Determined to see his name up in lights ✨@jordanthommmo2 is dreaming BIG! @usopen | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/F7YXfonKvk

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 31, 2024

In a closely contested opening set, Thompson was biding his time as he weathered his opponent’s heavier blows and made the most of opportunities to finish points at net.

He capitalised on a string of wild errors to land the only break and secured the set on his sixth ace in just under an hour.

While the opening set proved a struggle to prize open, the second swung markedly in the Sydneysider’s favour.

Thompson was untouchable on serve in that set – he never conceded a point in four straight holds – and it was not until the two-hour mark that his opponent came alive with his first break.

> READ: Ebden through to mixed doubles quarterfinals at US Open

Arnaldi’s more measured aggression was short-lived as he surrendered a 4-2 third-set lead and a 4-2 advantage in the tiebreak to bow out after two hours and 35 minutes.

Earlier, world No.1 Jannik Sinner brought Chris O’Connell’s US Open campaign to a close with a 6-1 6-4 6-2 showcase on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

While no match for the Australian Open champion, O’Connell, who was managing a shoulder complaint that forced his withdrawal from the Paris Olympics, equalled his best Grand Slam result following defeats of rising Italian Mattia Bellucci and No.26 seed Nicolas Jarry.

“That was definitely the best tennis player I have ever played,” O’Connell told Craig Gabriel after his career-best US Open run came to an end.

“I’m really happy with it. I feel like I’m starting to play the tennis I was sort of playing at the start of the year. That’s what I hope to continue with for the rest of the year.”

More to come…

Aussies in action – US Open

RESULTS
Men’s singles, third round
Jordan Thompson (AUS) d [30] Matteo Arnaldi (ITA) 7-5 6-2 7-6(5)
[1] Jannik Sinner (ITA) d Chris O’Connell (AUS) 6-1 6-4 6-2
[10] Alex de Minaur (AUS) d Dan Evans (GBR) 6-3 6-7(4) 6-0 6-0

COMING UP
Men’s singles, fourth round
[28] Alexei Popyrin (AUS) v [20] Frances Tiafoe (USA)
Jordan Thompson (AUS) v [10] Alex de Minaur (AUS)  

> VIEW: US Open 2024 men’s singles draw

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