US Open: Rinky Hijikata through to fourth round after win over Zhizhen Zhang

Rinky Hijikata’s career-best run at a grand slam isn’t over yet after a hard-fought victory in the third round. See the details and who he plays next here.

Australian wildcard Rinky Hijikata has surprised even himself with his stunning charge into the last 16 at the US Open – and he hopes his under-the-radar reputation could be his secret weapon.

The 22-year-old, who had never won a grand slam match before this year, knocked off Chinese giant slayer Zhizhen Zhang on Saturday (AEST) in a gripping third round encounter in New York.

The win ensures a guaranteed payday of $US284,000 ($A440,000) ahead of Hijikata’s fourth round matchup against American gun Frances Tiafoe.

The 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-4 victory also propelled him into the world’s top 100 for the first time.

“I look at my ranking a lot more if I’m doing well,” Hijikata laughed after the match.

“I like seeing myself going up, not so much when I’m going down.”

Rinky Hijikata is through to the last 16. Picture: Getty Images

Asked if he could believe his hot streak, the modest youngster acknowledged that he “wouldn’t have picked it at the start of the week”.

“I’ve put a lot of hard work in, I’ve always strived for these kinds of results, and I’ve always felt like I’m capable of having runs in these tournaments,” he told reporters.

“But for it to happen this soon when I feel like I’m still pretty new to playing at the grand slams is pretty cool.”

Zhang entered the match on a high, having stunned world number five Casper Ruud — last year’s US Open runner-up — in five sets in the second round at Flushing Meadows.

But Hijikata was able to match the power hitter with his tenacious baseline play, decisively winning the first two sets and fighting through struggles on his serve during the third set.

His fiery exclamations of “come on” were reminiscent of Lleyton Hewitt, with Hijikata acknowledging after the match that he modelled his game on the Australian tennis legend.

“Rusty was a big one when I was growing up – I used to love watching him play,” he said.

“I had the backwards cap and everything, and the Yonex racquet.”

Hijikata is now in a corner of the US Open draw with three Americans including Tiafoe, but he said he would embrace the “pretty hostile” environment, drawing on his experience playing college tennis at the University of North Carolina.

Hijikata had to do it tough but got the job done. Picture: Getty Images via AFP

“Either way, I love thriving on the energy. (The crowd) won’t be for me, that’s for sure, but I’ll still try to enjoy it as much as I can … I’m looking forward to it,” he said.

Tiafoe acknowledged he had not seen much of Hijikata, which the Australian conceded could be an advantage, at least for the first set of their battle to reach the quarter finals.

“I guess a lot of these guys haven’t really seen a lot of me … I haven’t played a whole lot on the main tour still,” Hijikata said.

His match against Zhang was played on court 17, which was compared to “Snoop Dogg’s living room” earlier in the tournament by German star Alexander Zverev as several players complained about the smell of marijuana.

After an investigation by US tennis officials, who placed the blame on a public park next door, the scent was only occasionally noticeable as Hijikata and Zhang squared off.

Fellow Australian Alex de Minaur, the 13th seed, will have a chance to join Hijikata in the fourth round on Sunday (AEST) when he takes on Chile’s Nicolas Jarry.

Originally published as US Open: Rinky Hijikata through to fourth round after win over Zhizhen Zhang