(Reuters) – Denis Shapovalov will be eyeing a berth in his maiden Grand Slam quarter-final when he faces seventh seed David Goffin in the fourth round of the U.S. Open on Sunday.
Shapovalov made the fourth round at Flushing Meadows in his first appearance in 2017 but lost in the third on his last two trips to Flushing Meadows.
The 21-year-old Canadian found himself on the brink of a third successive exit at the same stage on Friday before staging a remarkable comeback against Taylor Fritz.
Shapovalov faces a tough challenge in Belgian Goffin, who won their only previous meeting in Tokyo last year.
“It’s going to continue to be tough, if not tougher. I’m ready for anything ahead of me,” said Shapovalov.
Goffin, who has flown under the radar at Flushing Meadows this year, has bowed out in the fourth round in his last three trips to New York.
In other matches, world number one Novak Djokovic will continue his push for an 18th Grand Slam title when he takes on 20th seed Pablo Carreno Busta while fifth seed Alexander Zverev meets Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
In the women’s draw, former champion Naomi Osaka faces hard-hitting Estonian Anett Kontaveit, sixth seed Petra Kvitova meets unseeded American Shelby Rogers and 2016 winner Angelique Kerber plays Jennifer Brady.
(Reporting by Arvind Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
