Sinner snuffs out hopes of another Aussie stunner with a saintly US ...

In the midst of the best season of his career, Jordan Thompson has reached the second week of a grand slam for just the second week of his career with a superb performance against Italian Matteo Arnaldi at the US Open on Saturday.

The prize for the 30-year-old, who defeated the 30th seed 7-5 6-2 7-6 (5) in 2hr 33min, could be a meeting with Australian No.1 Alex de Minaur, who is on court in his 3rd Rd clash against English veteran Dan Evans.

That, he said, would be “unreal” but he has no plans of watching his mate, who is in action on Louis Armstrong Stadium against English veteran Dan Evans.

“If he gets through, it would be for sure an Aussie in the quarters. I hope that it is me,” he said.

“(But) I will be recovering. I won’t be looking on. I’ll leave that to my coach (Marinko Matosevic).”

Watch selected NRL, AFL, SSN games plus every F1 qualifying session and race live in 4K on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial today >

Thompson, who broke through for his first ATP Tour title in Mexico earlier this year and then reached the semifinals at Queens in June, has played superbly to date in New York with victories over world No.7 Hubert Hurkacz and Frenchman Constant Letienne.

Despite missing a seeding by one spot, the Sydneysider has demonstrated over the first week at the Billie Jean King Tennis Centre that he is in the form of his life and played a well-rounded match to defeat Arnaldi, whose partner is from Melbourne.

Little separated the pair, who are split in the rankings by just two positions, throughout the first set until Thompson conjured a superb defensive point with Arnaldi serving at 5-all.

Showing great movement and touch, the right-hander turned a defensive position into an opportunity with a superb lob and after finishing the point with a backhand volley, held two break points.

After breaking his rival, he pumped his first in delight at supporters including Australia’s Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt.

With his confidence surging, Thompson was the dominant player in the second set. Arnaldi’s frustration became evident late in the piece when he lashed out at a drive volley, thundering a forehand drive in fury in a sign the Aussie’s precision was driving him mad.

In the box position to reach the last 16, Thompson’s concentration dipped in the middle stages of the set when he dropped serve for the first time to trail 2-4. But he was able to retrieve the service break immediately and, in the tiebreaker, rallied from a slow start to triumph.

Thompson, who will break into the top 30 for the first time as a result of his triumph, has no doubt he is in the best form of his career.

“It was a great match from me. The third round is pressure. I have not been there too much in my career,” he said.

“I was getting a little bit agitated there ... but I dealt with a really well and came out on top. It is really pleasing to win under lights in New York on a Saturday night.

“I think (I am playing at my peak). It is hard to argue with. I feel like I am getting better as I get older. It is definitely the best I have been playing in my career and my results and ranking dictate that.”

Earlier on Saturday, fellow Australian Chris O’Connell fell short in his bid to further rock the US Open to the core on Saturday just over 16 hours after Alexei Popyrin ousted a legend on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Carlos Alcaraz had been stunned by Botic van de Zandschulp in New York on Thursday night. Popyrin knocked out Novak Djokovic 24 hours later at the Billie Jean King Tennis Centre.

But there would be no shock for world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who snuffed out any hopes of another stunner with a superb opening set against the Sydneysider O’Connell on route to a 6-1 6-4 6-2 triumph in 1hr 53min.

O’Connell had watched the other two champions ousted and, with a win over Sinner to his belt, said he “had to believe” he could continue the upset streak. But reality hit swiftly.

“He was really on fire,” he said.

“I just felt a little bit clueless, to be honest. I mean, I didn’t get a look at his service games. Every single point, once I got into a rally, with every single shot I just felt like I had to do something with it, because he was just on me. He was suffocating me.”

O’Connell, who has now reached the 3rd Rd in Flushing Meadows twice, was mindful of the enormity of the task confronting him having twice played the Italian.

He was too good for Sinner, the reigning Australian Open champion, when they met in Atlanta two years ago at a time when there were still a couple of rough edges to the Italian diamond.

But when they clashed in Miami earlier this year, with Sinner now heading the world rankings, the errors flew less frequently from the racquet of the player who is now the clear favourite for the US Open.

It proved a similar case on Saturday, for while O’Connell enjoyed some strong moments against Sinner in the second set, the Italian was largely saintly throughout. And he said the 23-year-old was even better now than what he was when they played in Florida.

“He’s a completely different player. I mean, the Miami version of him compared to here, that was definitely the best tennis player I have ever played (today),” O’Connell said.

“He hit his serve so well and I could not read it at all. But the biggest thing for me was that when I put the ball into the open court, I feel like I get a weaker reply from some of these other players, but it comes back way bigger from him.

“He is so good out wide. I couldn’t believe how strong and powerful some of the shots were that he hit from out wide. That was the thing that really struck me.”

Sinner plays American No. 14 seed Tommy Paul on Monday for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Christopher O'Connell of Australia. Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

Botic van de Zandschulp, meanwhile, was unable to back-up his giant-killing deeds.

He was well beaten by rising English star Jack Draper, a left-handed of immense promise who defeated Alcaraz at Queens a fortnight before the Spaniard successfully defended his Wimbledon crown.

Highlighting the fact no two tennis matches are the same, the Dutchman went from proving a world-beater on Thursday night to serving five double faults in succession across two service games on Saturday when beaten 6-4 6-3 6-2.

Draper will play Tomas Machac from the Czech Republic for a spot in the last 16.

In other third round results on Day 6 of the US Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini claimed her 18th win in a major for the year with a 6-3 6-4 win over Yulia Putintseva. Only Alcaraz has won more grand slam matches this year.

No. 6 seed Jessica Pegula continued her resurgence through the North American summer with a 6-3 6-3 victory over Jessica Bouzas Maniero.

She next faces Diana Shnaider, who has risen impressively up the ranking this year, was a dominant 6-2 6-2 winner over Italian veteran Sara Errani.

Former Roland Garros finalist Karolina Muchova continues to shine on the comeback trail. She dismissed Anastasia Potapova 6-4 6-2 in superb fashion and will play Paolini on Monday for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Italy's Jannik Sinner celebrates. Photo by Kena Betancur / AFPSource: AFP