WHAT HAPPENED: Punishing depth, pugilism and a rock-solid constitution.
World No. 73 Ilya Ivashka's grinding game possesses all of the above in spades, and the 28-year-old was able to employ each to great effect to spring an upset against 26th-seeded Lorenzo Musetti on Court 5 on Saturday evening.
It was an impressive performance by a player who is slowly but surely starting to come into his own on the Grand Slam stage.
Ivashka was opportunistic while Musetti was tentative; he was feisty when Musetti was passive. And it all added up to a satisfying 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 triumph and a first trip to the US Open’s Round of 16 for a former World No. 40 who appears intent to work his way up the rankings again.
It was a veteran victory for the 6-foot-3 powerhouse, who is a self-confessed admirer of former US Open champion Andy Murray.
There are some similarities between the players, as well.
Ivashka possesses a heavy weight of shot like the aforementioned Scot and he put it to good use against Musetti, winning the forehand crosscourt rallies more often than not as he committed nine less errors than Musetti off that wing.
He was also more assertive and opportunistic than his slick but relatively inexperienced counterpart.
Ivashka made 53 forays to the net, winning 36, and he converted all seven break points he saw against Musetti to keep the scoreline tilted in his favor.
As the rallies drew longer, the physical presence of Ivashka tilted the court his way. He controlled the longer points as Musetti struggled to make inroads with his forehand and seemed at a loss for a way to counter the smothering game of his opponent.
Perhaps Musetti’s difficulties can be chalked up to the fact that he spent far too much time on court during his first two rounds. He played the longest match of the US Open in the first round, defeating Belgium’s David Goffin in a four-hour, 35-minute tussle. His second-round match lasted only two hours and 30 minutes (a four-set win over Gijs Brouwer), but judging from his struggles with what appeared to be a hand issue during Saturday’s match, the Italian was probably lower on petrol than he would have preferred.
After the pair split the first two sets, Musetti’s energy dipped significantly.
Fatigue reared its ugly head in the final two sets, as Musetti wilted in the longer rallies of five or more strokes, winning 14 and losing 34.
In the end it was just too much to overcome for the smooth-striking Italian, especially against a battle-hardened warrior like Ivashka.
WHAT IT MEANS: Ivashka reaches the Round of 16 at a major for the second time in his last four Grand Slam appearances. He will try to break through to his first major quarterfinal against either 11th-seeded Jannik Sinner or Brandon Nakashima.
MATCH POINT: Ivashka registered zero double-faults and zero aces on the day—until the last point of the match, when he rained down his first ace to close out his victory in two hours and 46 minutes.
