‘Let’s f***ing go’: Aussie star defies belief

The final Slam of the year has entered the third round with upsets still rolling in as the competition heats up.

Australian fans are throwing their support behind Rinky Hijikata who booked his spot in the fourth round on Saturday after a masterful outing.

Fellow Aussie Alex de Minaur won his way through to the third round with his next match coming on Sunday.

11.30am – Gauff survives early scary

American teenage sensation Coco Gauff has survived a third round scare to advance into the second week at the US Open.

Taking on Belgian Elise Mertens, Gauff had her back against the wall early after losing the opening set.

Her troubles continued early into the second set with the match all locked up at 3-3 and Mertens holding firm.

Gauff then found her groove and ran away with the contest, reeling off nine straight games to secure the 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory.

She’ll now take on former world number one Caroline Wozniacki in the fourth round.

9.15am – Aussie star into the fourth round

Australian wildcard Rinky Hijikata has done it. The 22-year-old booked his spot in the fourth round after a masterful display on Saturday.

Hijikata dominated his opponent Zhang Zhizhen from the outset as he claimed the 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory.

The Aussie unfurled a stream of 55 winners to overpower Zhang before sealing victory with his 13th ace of the match in the fourth set.

In what is only his second Grand Slam appearance the young star continues to defy belief and will now advance into the second week of the US Open where he’ll take on tenth seeded American Frances Tiafoe.

Tiafoe dropped the opening set of his third round encounter before storming to victory against Adrian Mannarino.

8.30am – Day five results

Men’s

Rinky Hijikata def. Zhang Zhizhen 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3

Taylor Fritz (9) def. Jakub Mensik 6-1, 6-2, 6-0

Dominic Stricker def. Benjamin Bonzi 2-6, 7-5, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2

Tommy Paul (14) def. Alejandro Fokina (21) – 6-1, 6-0, 3-6, 6-3

Frances Tiafoe (10) def. Adrian Mannarino (22) – 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-6

Ben Shelton def. Aslan Karatsev 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 6-0

Women’s

Belinda Bencic (15) def. Zhu Lin 7-6, 2-6, 6-3

Coco Gauff (6) def. Elise Mertens (32) 3-6, 6-3, 6-0

Iga Swiatek (1) def. Kaja Juvan 6-0, 6-1

Karolina Muchova (10) def. Taylor Townsend 7-6, 6-3

Wang Xinyu def. Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 4-6, 6-3, 6-2

Jelena Ostapenko (20) def. Bernarda Pera 4-6, 6-3, 6-3

Caroline Wozniacki def. Jennifer Brady 4-6, 6-3, 6-1

8am – Volatile star loses it at US Open crowd

Daniil Medvedev once again has drawn the ire of the U.S. Open crowd — just like he did in 2019.

Medvedev advanced to the third round after a hard-fought 6-2, 6-2, 6-7 (8), 6-2 win over Christopher O’Connell on Thursday night, but not after losing his cool multiple times and getting into an argument with some fans in the crowd at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

The 27-year-old, who won the U.S. Open in 2021, started to implode after failing to convert a few match points, one on a double fault.

O’Connell used the energy of the crowd to win four points in a row to take the third set in the tiebreaker.

Before the fourth set started, a cameraman was looking to get an up-close shot of a frustrated Medvedev, who angrily pushed the camera away.

But Medvedev wasn’t done with his antics.

With the fourth set tied 1-1, he got annoyed with members of the crowd who were talking and rushing back to their seats because it was not a change and he was attempting to serve.

“Can you shut up guys? Are you stupid or what?” an annoyed Medvedev appeared to say in the direction of a woman in the crowd who blew him a kiss while she was getting back into her seat.

During his on-court interview, Medvedev said the back-and-forth with the crowd helped fire him up this time, adding that it hasn’t been the case all the time.

“It depends, sometimes yes. Sometimes no. You can’t often know how it’s going to go. It’s kind of like a lottery,” he said with a smile.

Medvedev’s next encounter with the U.S. Open crowd will be on Sunday when he faces unseeded Sebastian Baez in the third round.

– Ted Holmlund, NY Post