Felix Auger-Aliassime, Alex de Minaur soar into U.S. Open quarters

No. 25 Felix Auger-Aliassime is back in a Grand Slam quarterfinal for the first time in 3 1/2 years after recording a 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 victory over No. 15 Andrey Rublev on Monday in the U.S. Open round of 16 at New York.

Auger-Aliassime racked up 42 winners at Arthur Ashe Stadium while easily dispatching Rublev, beating the Russian for just the second time in nine all-time meetings.

Auger-Aliassime of Canada will face No. 8 seed Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinals. The Aussie rolled to a 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 victory over Swiss qualifier Leandro Riedi.

Auger-Aliassime qualifies as a dangerous threat after dispatching No. 3 Alexander Zverev of Germany in four sets in the third round and sweeping Rublev.

"Felix is that type of player that everyone knows that his top level is incredibly high, and when he's playing with confidence, he's very tough to beat," de Minaur said. "This week he's obviously playing some incredible tennis, and he's got a lot of weapons.

"He's got a great serve. He's got a great forehand. He looks to dictate whenever he can. In that matchup for me it's all about trying to disrupt his rhythm, not give him the chance to bully me on the court."

Auger-Aliassime had a 13-6 edge in aces over Rublev, who finished with 22 winners.

The quarterfinal appearance will be Auger-Aliassime's first at a major since the 2022 Australian Open. His furthest advance at a Grand Slam event came in the 2021 U.S. Open, when he lost in the semifinals.

"Today is my first time playing on Arthur Ashe in a few years and I think it feels even better than the first time," Auger-Aliassime said. "At 21, I was on my way up. I had a few setbacks, injuries, struggles with my confidence. Then to come back the second time in the quarterfinals here, it feels much better, more deserved."

Rublev jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the opening set before Auger-Aliassime took five of the final six games to win the set. Things went easier the rest of the way.

"To keep my cool and to be more calm and poised when finishing the match was the key," Auger-Aliassime said. "I had many tough battles with Andrey in the past. Sometimes I would be up, like I was today, and he would come back. So it was very important for me to stay ahead and to keep putting pressure all the way until the last point."

de Minaur cooked up nine aces while sailing past Riedi, a 23-year-old who owns the lowest ranking (No. 435) of any player to reach the round of 16 at a Grand Slam tournament since Richard Krajicek at Wimbledon in 2002.

The victory put de Minaur in the quarterfinals for the second straight U.S. Open and the fifth time in the past seven majors. Overall, de Minaur has reached the quarterfinals six times without winning.

He held a 21-20 edge in winners on Monday and committed just 21 unforced errors to Riedi's 39.

"I'm super proud of what I'm doing," de Minaur said. "Ultimately, this is where I want to be, playing for the big titles, I want to be in contention. I'm putting myself in the right places. I've got another great opportunity coming up in the quarterfinals, I'm gonna go out and have a swing."

Riedi had his best showing at a major. His low ranking is a product of injuring his right knee during qualifying for last year's U.S. Open and subsequently undergoing two knee surgeries. He returned to action in May and had to make his way through qualifiers to get into the main draw.

Also, No. 10 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy hit 27 winners and advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-0, 6-1 victory over Jaume Munar of Spain.

Musetti is into the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the first time. He twice has reached the semifinals of majors — this year's French Open and 2024 Wimbledon.

Munar had just six winners and was plagued by 29 unforced errors.