U.S. Open: No alarm for Jannik Sinner, Iga Swiatek as top seeds ease into quarterfinals

Top seeds Sinner and Swiatek advance to U.S. Open quarterfinals, facing tough competition in a tournament full of surprises.

Top seeds Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek continued to blaze a trail through the U.S. Open draws on Monday, easing into the quarterfinals of a tournament marked by almost daily upsets with a minimum of fuss.

Sinner disappointed a partisan crowd with a 7-6(3) 7-6(5) 6-1 win over Tommy Paul in an entertaining fourth-round tie after Swiatek had beaten Liudmila Samsonova 6-4 6-1 in a more muted atmosphere on the main Arthur Ashe Stadium showcourt.

Italian Sinner barely got a look at Paul's serve until the third set but produced his best tennis when it mattered to subdue the effervescent American and move on to a mouth-watering last-eight meeting with 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev.

"I can be very proud today, it was a tough opponent, so I'm very happy to be in the next round," said Sinner, who beat Medvedev in Melbourne in January to win his only Grand Slam title.

"I didn't start very well (but) I tried to stay there mentally. And for sure, this today was one of the keys to win this match."

Russian Medvedev had earlier brushed aside a delay caused by a fire alarm in the building where the Hawkeye line-calling system is housed to pummel Portugal's Nuno Borges 6-0 6-1 6-3.

Like Medvedev, Swiatek is the only former singles champion left in her draw and the Pole hit her impressive stride in a comfortable win over Samsonova before warning she was only going to improve.