Jannik Sinner never gives US Open opponent hope of an upset like those against Djokovic and Alcaraz

NEW YORK (AP) — Jannik Sinner never gave his third-round opponent at the U.S. Open on Saturday, Chris O'Connell, even a moment to contemplate pulling off the sort of monumental upset that eliminated Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.

“It shows that this sport is unpredictable. Whenever you drop a little bit of your level — if it’s mental, if it’s tennis-wise or physical — at the end, it has a huge impact on the result,” Sinner said. “Both opponents who they lost against, they played some incredible tennis. And it happens.”

Not to the No. 1-ranked Sinner, who is suddenly the favorite to win the men's championship at Flushing Meadows. He won the first five games and 21 of the first 29 points to make quite clear how things would go at Arthur Ashe Stadium and wrapped up a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 victory over O'Connell in under two hours.

“I felt like he was on from the get-go,” O'Connell said. “I felt a little bit clueless, to be honest. ... Every single shot, I just felt like I had to do something with it, because he was just on me. He was suffocating me.”

Stepping on court less than 15 hours after Djokovic's loss to Alexei Popyrin, and two days after Alcaraz's loss to Botic van de Zandschulp, Sinner was as dominant as can be in every facet of the sport. With 23-time major champion Serena Williams watching from an Ashe suite, Sinner struck 15 aces. He never faced a break point. He won five of O'Connell's 12 service games. He finished with more than twice as many winners, 46, as unforced errors, 22.

“The best tennis player I've ever played, for sure,” the 30-year-old O'Connell said.

The only past men's champion at the U.S. Open still in the bracket is 2021 winner Daniil Medvedev.

"For sure didn’t expect to have this in the fourth round when Novak and Carlos are here," Medvedev said after beating No. 31 Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 6-4, 6-3. “So it’s a fun feeling from one side, but from the other side it’s a new tournament. I need to play my best to try to win it again.”

The No. 5 seed will next face Nuno Borges, who was a point away from elimination at 6-3 in a fourth-set tiebreaker, then rallied to beat Jakub Mensik 6-7 (5), 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-0.

Top-ranked Iga Swiatek, who counts the 2022 title at Flushing Meadows among her five Grand Slam trophies, beat No. 25 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-2 to reach the fourth round of the U.S. Open for the fourth straight year.

Earlier Saturday, Jasmine Paolini joined Coco Gauff as the only women to reach at least the fourth round at every major in 2024, getting that far at the U.S. Open for the first time with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over No. 30 seed Yulia Putintseva.

The fifth-seeded Paolini was the runner-up at the French Open in June and Wimbledon in July and next meets 2023 French Open finalist Karolina Muchova. Also advancing were No. 6 Jessica Pegula, No. 16 Liudmila Samsonova, No. 18 Diana Shnaider and 2018 Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki.

Since losing the first set he played in New York, against Mackie McDonald — which also was the first set Sinner had played since news emerged of a doping case that involved two positive tests in March for trace amounts of a banned anabolic steroid — the 23-year-old from Italy has performed impeccably, dropping a total of 18 games across nine sets.

Trying to collect his second Grand Slam title of the year after gaining the first of his career at the Australian Open in January, Sinner will face No. 14 Tommy Paul of the United States in the fourth round on Monday. Paul defeated Canadian qualifier Gabriel Diallo 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (3).

“He’s a great mover. He has improved a lot in the last period of time. It’s going to be a tough challenge,” Sinner said about facing Paul, a 2023 Australian Open semifinalist. “He plays some great tennis, especially here in America.”

Perhaps there was some wariness on Sinner's part heading into Saturday, given recent events. This is, after all, only the third time in the Open era (the others were in 1973 and 2000) that two of the top three seeded men were gone before the fourth round.

So Sinner woke up as the man considered likeliest to win the U.S. Open, a status that belonged to No. 3 Alcaraz — the champion at the French Open and Wimbledon this season — before the tournament began. No. 2 Djokovic — the defending champ and owner of a men's-record 24 major trophies — moved atop the odds when Alcaraz was sent home Thursday night, only to relinquish that after his own early exit Friday night.

The 87th-ranked O'Connell harbored hope of producing yet another surprise, even if he's never beaten a member of the top 10 or been past the third round at a Slam.

What van de Zandschulp and Popyrin did allowed O’Connell to dream of producing something similar against Sinner.

“I mean, yeah, I’ve got to believe,” O’Connell said, “but I just felt that he was really on fire.”

There is something quite difficult about trying to follow up one career-best win with another, and van de Zandschulp didn't really show up on Saturday, eliminated by No. 25 Jack Draper 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. Draper, a 22-year-old left-hander from Britain, never has been past the fourth round a major, and neither has his next opponent, unseeded Tomas Machac, a 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 winner against David Goffin.

“After the match (against Alcaraz), it was a little bit crazy,” van de Zandschulp said. “You try to think about the next match but you get reminded a lot of the match the day before. So of course it was tough to play today after the last two days.”

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Flavio Cobolli, of Italy, returns a shot to Daniil Medvedev, of Russia, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Aug. 31, in New York. 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Daniil Medvedev, of Russia, reacts after defeating Flavio Cobolli, of Italy, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Aug. 31, in New York. 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Daniil Medvedev, of Russia, returns a shot to Flavio Cobolli, of Italy, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Aug. 31, in New York. 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Gabriel Diallo, of Canada,, left, greets Tommy Paul, of the United States, at the net after Paul won their third round match of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Tommy Paul, of the United States, falls to the court after returning a shot to Gabriel Diallo, of Canada, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Tomas Machac, of the Czech Republic, watches after his return shot to David Goffin, of Belgium, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Jannik Sinner, of Italy, returns a shot to Christopher O'Connell, of Australia, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Botic van De Zandschulp, of the Netherlands, reacts after losing to Jack Draper, of Great Britain, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Aug. 31, in New York. 2024. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Jack Draper, of Great Britain, misses a shot from Botic van De Zandschulp, of the Netherlands, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Aug. 31, in New York. 2024. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Jannik Sinner, of Italy, returns a shot to Christopher O'Connell, of Australia, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Serena Williams, far left, watches play between Jannik Sinner, of Italy, and Christopher O'Connell, of Australia, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Christopher O'Connell, of Australia, reacts after losing a point to Jannik Sinner, of Italy, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Jannik Sinner, of Italy, reacts after scoring a point against Christopher O'Connell, of Australia, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, of Spain, returns a shot to Jessica Pegula, of the United States, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Anastasia Potapova, of Russia, wipes sweat from her face during a match against Karolina Muchova, of the Czech Republic, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Huger)

Karolina Muchova, of the Czech Republic, returns a shot to Anastasia Potapova, of Russia, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Huger)

Yulia Putintseva, of Kazakhstan, returns a shot to Jasmine Paolini, of Italy, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Jasmine Paolini, of Italy, returns a shot to Yulia Putintseva, of Kazakhstan, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Karolina Muchova, of the Czech Republic, reacts after defeating Anastasia Potapova, of Russia, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Huger)

Jessica Pegula, of the United States, prepares for a serve from Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, of Spain, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Jasmine Paolini, of Italy, reacts after scoring a point against Yulia Putintseva, of Kazakhstan, of the United States, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran launched a satellite into space Saturday with a rocket built by the country's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, state-run media reported, the latest for a program the West fears helps Tehran advance its ballistic missile program.

Iran described the launch as a success, which would be the second such launch to put a satellite into orbit with the rocket. There was no immediate independent confirmation of the launch’s success.

Footage later released by Iranian media showed the rocket blast off from a mobile launcher. An Associated Press analysis of the video and other imagery later released suggested the launch happened at the Guard’s launch pad on the outskirts of the city of Shahroud, some 350 kilometers (215 miles) east of the capital, Tehran.

The launch comes amid heightened tensions gripping the wider Middle East over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, during which Tehran launched an unprecedented direct missile-and-drone attack on Israel. Meanwhile, Iran continues to enrich uranium to nearly weapons-grade levels, raising concerns among nonproliferation experts about Tehran's program.

Iran identified the satellite-carrying rocket as the Qaem-100, which the Guard used in January for another successful launch. Qaem means “upright” in Iran's Farsi language.

The solid-fuel, three-stage rocket put the Chamran-1 satellite, weighing 60 kilograms (132 pounds), into a 550-kilometer (340-mile) orbit, state media reported. The rocket bore a Quranic verse: "That which is left by Allah is better for you, if you are believers.”

A state-owned subsidiary of Iran's Defense Ministry and experts at the Aerospace Research Institute built the satellite with others to “test hardware and software systems for orbital maneuver technology validation,” state media said, without elaborating.

Gen. Hossein Salami, the head of the Guard, praised the launch in a statement and said scientists successfully overcame “the atmosphere of extensive and oppressive international sanctions."

The U.S. State Department and the American military did not immediately respond to requests for comment over the Iranian launch.

The United States had previously said Iran’s satellite launches defy a U.N. Security Council resolution and called on Tehran to undertake no activity involving ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. U.N. sanctions related to Iran’s ballistic missile program expired last October.

Under Iran’s relatively moderate former President Hassan Rouhani, the Islamic Republic slowed its space program for fear of raising tensions with the West. Hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, a protege of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who came to power in 2021, has pushed the program forward. Raisi died in a helicopter crash in May.

It's unclear what Iran's new president, the reformist Masoud Pezeshkian, wants for the program as he was silent on the issue while campaigning.

The U.S. intelligence community’s worldwide threat assessment this year said Iran's development of satellite launch vehicles “would shorten the timeline” for Iran to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile because it uses similar technology.

Intercontinental ballistic missiles can be used to deliver nuclear weapons. Iran is now producing uranium close to weapons-grade levels after the collapse of its nuclear deal with world powers. Tehran has enough enriched uranium for “several” nuclear weapons, if it chooses to produce them, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency repeatedly has warned.

Iran has always denied seeking nuclear weapons and says its space program, like its nuclear activities, is for purely civilian purposes. However, U.S. intelligence agencies and the IAEA say Iran had an organized military nuclear program up until 2003.

The launch also came ahead of the second anniversary of the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, which sparked nationwide protests against Iran's mandatory headscarf, or hijab, law and the country's Shiite theocracy.

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

This undated photo provided by Iranian Space Agency, ISA, shows Chamran-1 satellite. Iran launched the satellite into space Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, with a rocket built by the country's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, state-run media reported, the latest for a program the West fears helps Tehran advance its ballistic missile program. (ISA via AP)