NEW YORK, (Reuters) – Russian teenager Andrey Rublev swept aside seventh seed Grigor Dimitrov 7-5 7-6(3) 6-3 to reach the third round of the U.S. Open on Thursday as a new wave of young guns continued to impress at the year’s final grand slam.
Rublev, 19, captivated a packed Louis Armstrong Stadium with his speed and stinging ground strokes to see off the 26-year-old Bulgarian, who not long ago was hailed as the next big thing in men’s tennis and labelled ‘Baby Fed.’
The Russian becomes the latest teenager to set the U.S. Open abuzz following 18-year-old Canadian Denis Shapovalov’s upset of eighth-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Wednesday and 19-year-old American Frances Tiafoe’s breathless opening round five-set loss to Federer.
The teenagers, none of whom are of legal age to celebrate their success with a drink in New York, have brought a jolt of youthful energy to the U.S. Open that looked set to be dominated by the veterans like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
