US Open: Frances Tiafoe cruises into fourth round, ending the run of wildcard Rinky Hijikata to set up all-American clash with Ben Shelton

Australian-born Rinky Hijikata’s breakthrough at the US Open has come to an abrupt end with a straight-sets fourth-round victory over No. 10 Frances Tiafoe.

Tiafoe, one of last year’s semifinalists, stormed to victory from yet another final four show in New York with an impressive 6-4 6-1 6-4 Australian wild card win.

The speed of Hijikata’s serve was noticeably slower than in his previous three rounds and it gave Tiafoe little to no effort to catch and break the 22-year-old six times during the two-hour encounter.

The American was utterly dominant, conceding just 13 points on his own serve in setting up a quarterfinal match with unseeded compatriot Ben Shelton, who had previously beaten Tommy Paul in four sets.

“It means a lot,” Tiafoe said. “He went through the draw calmly and I’ve never played against him, so I was definitely trying out at the beginning.”

“When I broke there in the first (set), I really took off. In the end I got a little sloppy.

“But I’m just happy that I made it through the quarterfinals of the Open.”

Hijikata’s foray into the last 16 at a grand slam earned the Sydneysider $284,000 for the first time and a rise in the ranking from world No. 110 to a career-high 81st.

This makes Hijikata eligible for a direct participation in the Australian Open in January and Australia also has nine men in the top 100 without the injured Nick Kyrgios.

Only the superpowers the US (11) and France (11) have more.

“It was pretty cool to see all the other Australian boys and girls supporting me and each other,” said Hijikata.

“We have a really good group of guys at the moment. I feel like we’re all pushing each other to get better.’