Czech qualifier Jakub Mensik did not hit many happy returns at the US Open as he was crushed by Taylor Fritz on his 18th birthday.
American hope Fritz, the ninth seed, played the ultimate party pooper and gave Mensik just three games in a 6-1 6-2 6-0 victory.
“I felt good. I kind of had a clear plan of what I wanted to do, how I wanted to play him,” said Fritz, 25.
“I returned well. I was moving really well. Yep, I just played a solid match.”
Incredibly, Fritz has dropped just 13 games in his three matches in New York so far. He will face 21-year-old Swiss sensation Dominic Stricker in round four.
The USA are waiting for a first home men’s champion since Andy Roddick 20 years ago, but they already have four in the last 16 with Michael Mmoh potentially a fifth.
They will definitely have at least one quarter-finalist as Tommy Paul beat Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-1 6-0 3-6 6-3, and he will face Ben Shelton, who got past Aslan Karatsev of Russia 6-4 3-6 6-2 6-0.
Frances Tiafoe, the 10th seed, came from a set down to beat Frenchman Adrian Mannarino to set up a clash with Rinky Hijikata of Australia.
“When any of us see the others having good results, it’s motivating,” added Fritz. “I think they’d all say the same thing.
“But it’s motivating. Because if one of us does something, the others not only want to do it too, they now believe that they can also do it because we think we’re as good as each other. If he did this here, then why can’t I?”
He continued: “I think it’s kind of this progression that we’ve had for a while now, why we’re at where we’re at. Someone achieves something big, then someone else comes and wants to match him or one-up him, and it’s the cycle that keeps going.
“We’re all such good friends, it’s motivating, for sure.”
Jarry defeats Paul to set up Zverev showdown in Italian Open final
Nicolas Jarry defeated Tommy Paul in three sets on Friday to set up a showdown with Alexander Zverev in the Italian Open final.
The men's world number 24 prevailed 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 in a little under three hours in Rome to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 final.
Jarry earned the only break of serve in the eighth game of the opening set, but Paul - who dropped just one set in four matches en route to this stage - hit back in the second.
Birthday boy Paul lost serve to trail 4-2 at one stage, but he produced one of the shots of the tournament at the ideal moment and soon dragged it back to 4-4.
A gruelling set concluded with Paul taking the tie-break 7-3, but Jarry was unperturbed and won the deciding set with his fifth match point to see off Paul in a gruelling contest.
Data Debrief:
Jarry is the third male Chilean in the Open Era to reach the singles final of the Italian Open after Marcelo Rios (1997-98) and Fernando Gonzalez (2007).
The 28-year-old registered 13 aces against Paul to his opponent's seven and hit 35 winners to 19 in a deserved victory.
Zverev ends Tabilo's dream run to reach Italian Open final
Alexander Zverev fought back from the brink to reach the Italian Open final on Friday, overcoming Alejandro Tabilo by a 1-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 scoreline in the last four.
Zverev was punished for a slow start as Tabilo took the opener within 32 minutes, but the German fought back in a one-hour, 15-minute slog of a second set.
The 2017 Italian Open champion put his foot down from 3-3 in the second-set tie-break, with Tabilo potentially feeling the effects of a fine run that included a last-32 upset of Novak Djokovic.
Zverev upped the intensity in the final set and won a huge 94 per cent of points behind his first serve as his opponent wilted, the third seed reaching the Rome final for a third time.
Data Debrief: Zverev draws level with Becker
Zverev will now face either Nicolas Jarry or Tommy Paul in Sunday's final, which will be his 11th at ATP 1000 Masters level.
That tally pulls him level with Boris Becker for most such finals by a German player since the format's 1990 introduction.
Sabalenka defeats Collins to set up Swiatek rematch
Aryna Sabalenka defeated Danielle Collins 7-5 6-2 to set up yet another meeting with Iga Swiatek at the Italian Open.
Having defeated Collins en route to the final of the Madrid Open, which she lost to Swiatek, Sabalenka repeated the trick with a straight sets win over the American in Thursday's semi-final.
And the Belarusian's reward will be an immediate rematch with Swiatek.
The duo have met 10 times, including in Madrid earlier this month, with Swiatek winning seven times and Sabalenka claiming three victories.
This will be Sabalenka's first appearance in the Italian Open final.
She is the sixth player, along with Simona Halep (2017), Dinara Safina (2009), Serena Williams (2013), Ons Jabeur (2022), and Swiatek (2024) to have reached the final of both Madrid and Rome in the same season.
Data Debrief: Perfect record
Collins is the only player against whom Sabalenka has registered six wins without a loss in WTA events, while only against Maria Sakkari and Elise Mertens does she have more wins in her career in such events (seven each).
The final will mark the fourth meeting on clay between Swiatek and Sabalenka as world number one and two, equalling Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova for the most meetings on the surface as the WTA's top-two ranked players.
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