Auger-Aliassime advances to U.S. Open quarterfinals with straight-sets win over Rublev

Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime cruised into the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open with a 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 win over 15th-seeded Andrey Rublev of Russia on Monday in New York City.

It's the furthest Auger-Aliassime, the 25th seed, has made it in a Grand Slam event since he made the quarterfinals at the 2022 Australian Open. His best outing at a Grand Slam was a semifinal appearance at the 2021 U.S. Open.

The Montreal native, who upset third-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany on Saturday, will next face No. 8 seed Alex de Minaur of Australia for a chance at the semifinals.

Auger-Aliassime fired 13 aces to just four double faults in the two-hour, 16-minute match. He also broke on four of his seven chances and had 42 winners to Rublev's 22.

WATCH l Auger-Aliassime beats Rublev in straight sets: Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime rolls into U.S. Open quarters The Canadian tennis star cruised to a straight-sets win over Andrey Rublev in the U.S. Open Round of 16.

The opening set was a back-and-forth affair that saw the two play to a 5-5 tie. Auger-Aliassime put himself ahead 6-5 thanks to two aces and a forehand winner.

After multiple failed chances at converting on break point with the final game at deuce, Auger-Aliassime eventually claimed the set with a forehand winner followed by a Rublev backhand unforced error.

With the second set tied 2-2, Auger-Aliassime went into cruise control winning four of the next five games. He closed out two of those games with aces and the other two thanks to an unforced error and a forced error from Rublev.

Auger-Aliassime plays a forehand return during Monday's match. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images)

In the final set, with Rublev looking to make a push and the score at 5-4, Auger-Aliassime didn't surrender a single point. Behind a forehand winner, ace, forehand winner then a backhand winner, the 25-year-old sealed the victory.

Later Monday, third-seeded duo Gabriela Dabrowski, from Ottawa and New Zealand's Erin Routliffe take on 13th seed Cristina Bucas of Spain and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States in the round of 16 in women's doubles play.

Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., and tennis legend Venus Williams are also set to face China's Zhang Shuai and Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Osaka beats Gauff to reach 1st major quarters since 2021

Naomi Osaka eliminated Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-2 with a far more confident and consistent brand of tennis later Monday to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal in more than 4 1/2 years.

The No. 23-seeded Osaka was better throughout than No. 3 Gauff, whose repeated mistakes really made the difference in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Osaka is a 27-year-old who was born in Japan and moved to the U.S. with her family at age three. She has won four major championships, all on hard courts. That includes titles at the U.S. Open in 2018 and 2020.

Naomi Osaka’s biggest win since⁉️The two-time champion takes out world No.3 Gauff in straight sets, 6-3 6-2! pic.twitter.com/UoOOeywLD5 —@usopen

Gauff, a 21-year-old from Florida, owns two Slam trophies. The first came at Flushing Meadows in 2023 and the second at the French Open this June.

But Gauff came out jittery at the start. Her serve was fine; other strokes were the problem. She finished with 33 unforced errors — way more than Osaka's 12.

Swiatek cruises into quarterfinals

In other results Monday, second-ranked Iga Swiatek rolled into the quarterfinals by beating Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3, 6-1.

Swiatek rallied from down 3-1 in the first set to win, less than 48 hours after coming back from down 5-1 early to beat Russia's Anna Kalinskaya.

Swiatek is set to face American Amanda Anisimova or Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil for a spot in the semifinals. The 24-year-old from Poland is seeking her second U.S. Open title and seventh in a Grand Slam.

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