Gilles Simon sent Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer crashing to his earliest US Open defeat in five years on Sunday with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 win achieved in crushing New York humidity.
The 26th seeded Simon capitalised on the 52 unforced errors of the 32-year-old Ferrer, a semi-finalist in 2007 and 2012, who appeared to struggle physically towards the end of their third-round clash, which was just 10 minutes short of three hours.
Simon goes on to face Marin Cilic of Croatia, who beat South Africa’s Kevin Anderson 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, for a place in the quarter-finals in a clash of two men who both missed the 2013 US Open.
Simon was back in France for the birth of his second child while Cilic was serving out a doping ban.
The wiry 29-year-old Frenchman admitted he was delighted to have got the better of Ferrer against whom he had lost five times in six meetings.
“He destroyed me five times before,” said Simon, one of five Frenchmen to reach the third round.
“So I just tried to stay loose and relaxed and enjoy myself on court. But I am tired. The weather forecast said it would be cooler today but it didn’t feel like it.
“We ran so much and I am happy to finish in four sets because I knew that against David it would be really hard in the fifth.”
Federer eyes last 16
Roger Federer, bidding to become the first man to win six US Open titles, takes a 2-0 career lead over Spain’s Marcel Granollers into their third-round clash.
A win for the 33-year-old Swiss over the world number 42 would put him into a 14th successive fourth round at Flushing Meadows. Victory would also give him a 70th win at the tournament.
Granollers made the last-16 in 2013 where he was demolished by Novak Djokovic, winning just three games.
Bulgarian seventh seed Grigor Dimitrov, who had never won a match in New York in three appearances before this year, is a potential quarter-final opponent of Federer.
The 23-year-old Dimitrov plays Belgium’s David Goffin, the world 56, for the first time.
Goffin had also never won a match in New York before this year and he comes into the event buoyed by a recent maiden title in Kitzbuhel and a quarter-final run at Winston-Salem where he had to qualify.
Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych, a semi-finalist in 2012, faces Georgian-born Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili who won his first matches at Flushing Meadows this year for the first time since 2007.
Sunday’s action also throws up an intriguing all-French clash between Davis Cup teammates Richard Gasquet, the 12th seed, and 20th-seeded Gael Monfils.
Gasquet boasts a 6-4 lead over crowd favourite Monfils who celebrates his 28h birthday on Monday.
Monfils has won both of their meetings this year and also claimed their only other match at the US Open in the fourth round in 2010.
Dominic Thiem of Austria, the youngest player in the top 50 at just 20, is in the third round of a major for the first time.
He takes on experienced left-handed serve-and-volleyer Feliciano Lopez of Spain who is 12 years his senior.