On the black sleeve running down Christopher O’Connell’s arm was a small, white lightning bolt behind his right elbow.
Unfortunately, any hopes the Australian had of causing a shock this Labor Day weekend were shattered by Jannik Sinner. Sometimes you only strike twice.
Arthur Ashe has become a graveyard of champions in recent nights – at least in the men’s schedule of this US Open.
First Carlos Alcaraz, then Novak Djokovic. Both fell victim to seismic setbacks. On consecutive nights. On Saturday, however, the storm clouds cleared and on a calm, sunny afternoon, Sinner saved himself from a similar fate.
The world No. 1 advanced to the fourth round with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win over O’Connell. Sinner has endured a turbulent few weeks – since it emerged he had avoided suspension despite failing drugs tests twice earlier this year.
But the 23-year-old Italian is now the big favourite to win the final major of 2024. He started the year with a win at the Australian Open and his path to a second Grand Slam is now clear after Botic van de Zandschulp and Alexei Popyrin detonated a couple of bombs at the halfway point of the tournament.
The world number 1 has never made it past the quarter-finals of the US Open. He won’t get much better chances – even if the omens for this third round were not rosy.
Like Djokovic, Sinner was paired with an Australian underdog. Like Popyrin, O’Connell was looking to reach the fourth round of a major for the first time.
If those parallels gave Sinner even a shred of doubt, it didn’t. The Italian raced to a 5-0 lead and won the first set in half an hour. It was brutally one-sided.
O’Connell was recently dubbed the “silent killer” by one of his colleagues and kept quiet about Arthur Ashe. The problem? He didn’t have the firepower to take out Sinner. The Italian was simply outsmarted and outgunned by the Australian.
There were flashes of defiance and even electricity, especially in set two, when O’Connell found his footing and played his part in a rally that brought this crowd to its feet.
Three times Sinner sent the ball high into the air from New York. Three times O’Connell saw his smashes deflected. The Italian held on long enough to turn the tide and make a winning move. But his shot fell on the wrong side of the line.
It was a rare moment of drama on an otherwise comfortable afternoon for Sinner, who broke early in all three sets and gave O’Connell no hint of a surprise. The Australian did not face a break point all afternoon.
Serena Williams was also in the crowd at Arthur Ashe and below. For the first time in recent days, the main attraction held her ground.