US Open: Last Aussies standing, Ash Barty and Alex de Minaur bundled out in fourth round

The last Aussies standing, Ash Barty and Alex de Minaur, lose their fourth round matches.

Ash Barty and Alex de Minaiur have been bundled out of the US Open.

The last Australians standing in the US Open, Ash Barty and Alex de Minaur, have lost in the fourth round.

Barty’s career-changing season in singles at grand slam level ended after she was upset by Qiang Wang. The world No. 2 was unable to produce her best form in an error-riddled performance when beaten 6-2 6-4 in 1hr 22min.

Barty had won her only two prior encounters against Wang in Strasbourg and then at the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai last year, a tournament she went on to win. But playing in the land of opportunity, it was Barty’s inability to secure the chances on offer to her in the second set that ultimately caused her downfall.

Ashleigh Barty returns a shot during her Women's Singles fourth round match against Qiang Wang of China on day seven of the 2019 US Open.

De Minaur’s career-best run at a grand slam was halted by a resurgent Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets, with the Aussie going down 7-5 6-3 6-4. He was the last Australian hope left alive at the US Open after Barty was defeated earlier in the day.

The match was closer than the straight sets scoreline indicates but it takes only a mistake or two for an opportunity to go begging and this proved the case for the 20-year-old.

De Minaur produced an inspired performance against Kei Nishikori in the 3rd round.

It was his first victory over a rival ranked in the top 10 and it pushed him into the last 16 of a major for the first time.

Barty, 23, was philosophical after the defeat and stated the loss did not overshadow her accomplishments this year.

Barty will now focus on doubles with Victoria Azarenka after claiming the title last year with CoCo Vandeweghe.

“It’s been incredible. Yeah, I mean, it’s a tough day at the office today. But it’s been a year where we’ve hit our goals,” she said.

“Obviously I would have loved to have kept going here in singles, but we’ve got an opportunity to do that in doubles.

“Knowing what it was like last year to be able to lift the trophy in doubles was really cool. To be able to have another opportunity to do that now, still being able to play in doubles, is a bonus.

“We’ve had a great season in Grand Slams for singles. We’ve made the second week every single one, which has been really special. Now we’ll sit back, reflect, and look forward to a big couple months to finish off the year.”

Qiang Wang reacts after defeating Ashleigh Barty.

Barty started slowly against the world No 18 and never managed to recover.

After dropping her opening service game of the second set, the Roland Garros champion had nine opportunities to retrieve the break but was unable to seize one.

This was in part due to the superb court coverage and consistency of Wang.

It meant the Queenslander, who never truly appeared to find her rhythm in New York, was forced to play additional shots.

Ultimately, she would lapse into error or overreach in her bid to strike winners against the 27-year-old, who was coached by the late Australian Davis Cup champion Peter McNamara until he fell ill with prostate cancer.

He called Wang Q during their stint together and the Chinese competitor certainly posed too many questions for Barty today.

The unforced error count provided an accurate measurement of the reason for the demise of the recent world No 1.

The Miami Open champion made 39 unforced errors while hitting 22 winners.

Wang, in comparison, was far more level in her performance, with her tally sitting at 11 winners and 14 unforced errors as she reached the first quarterfinal of her career.

“I think I probably missed, maybe on the slice in particular, half a dozen in a standard rally ball where they just floated along, just clipped the tape,” Barty said.

“That’s frustrating with things like that. It’s not missing by massive margins. There were times where I pressed, and I did miss by big margins.

“Q also forced me to do that with her depth, her depth control a lot of the time. (It was) frustrating on some of the breakpoints that I wasn’t able to get balls that I wanted.

“But now is not really a time for what ifs. It is what it is. We just keep chipping away for the next one.”

It is a disappointing end to a stellar major season for the Australian, who reached the quarter-finals for a major for the first time in Melbourne before her stunning triumph in Paris.

She has subsequently been upset in fourth round matches by Alison Riske at Wimbledon and by Wang today, which put to an end the prospect of a quarter-final against Serena Williams.

But as the gracious Barty pointed out afterwards, little separates the majority of the tour on any given day.

“(There is) no easy round, full stop. (It) doesn’t matter whether it’s the first round or fourth round or a final,” she said.

“Q has had an incredible couple of weeks. I know she did well in the Bronx a couple of weeks ago. (She) has certainly been riding high. She’s got the ability to play some really good tennis.

“I’ve played her in some extremely tough matches in the past. Both of those matches I’ve come off the court knowing that it was really good quality. I knew I would have to bring that today. (But) in the bigger moments today, she was better.”

Alex de Minaur returns a shot during his Men's Singles fourth round match against Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria.

De Minaur was unable to play with as much freedom today due to the quality of Dimitrov’s performance, with the Bulgarian at the peak of his sometimes brilliant form.

Against Nishikori, de Minaur was outstanding on return and managed to break the Japanese star every second time he stepped up to serve. But the Sydneysider could conjure only one break point against Dimitrov, which eluded him, and floundered when the 2017 ATP Tour Finals champion landed his first serve.

The former Australian Open and Wimbledon semi-finalist has endured a testing season and entered the US Open with first round defeats in Canada and Cincinnati.

But there is an asterix in regards to that being poor form, for both came against Stan Wawrinka, the three-time major champion who plays Novak Djokovic later today in New York.

Dimitrov had dropped only one set to date to reach the 4th Rd and was too solid when it counted on critical points against the emerging Australian.

De Minaur, who is projected to move to a ranking of 30, was not far away in the two extremely tight opening sets.

Ultimately, he was betrayed by his forehand.

When serving to force a tiebreaker at 5-6, 30-all, the 20-year-old narrowly missed with two forehands to either side to concede the first set.

Another narrow miss off the forehand wing at 1-2 when serving at 1-2 in the second set ultimately proved the pivotal point in the set.

The Australian found himself on the brink of exiting the US Open when dropping for 3-4 in the third set after failing to make a difficult backhand volley.