De Minaur plays down expectations ahead of Evans test

The U.S. Open's third round continues on Saturday as the world's top players battle for Grand Slam glory in New York.

Men's top seed Jannik Sinner takes on Christopher O'Connell and women's top seed Iga Swiatek faces off against former quarter-finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Australian 10th seed Alex de Minaur, who has been struggling with a hip injury, plays Britain's Dan Evans, while former champion and fifth seed Daniil Medvedev takes on Flavio Cobolli.

TOP MEN'S MATCH: ALEX DE MINAUR V DAN EVANS

A cartilage tear in the hip that forced De Minaur to pull out of the Wimbledon quarter-final and miss the Paris Olympics made him a doubt for Thursday's second-round clash with Otto Virtanen.

But the 25-year old went on to beat Virtanen by straight sets to stay in the campaign and continue the battle to keep the injury at bay.

De Minaur was happy to be able to keep playing but did not want to raise the expectations too much ahead of facing British veteran Evans.

"Still not a lot of expectations, but I know every time I step out there I'm going to compete, I'm going to try my hardest and hopefully put on a show for you guys," he said. "So let's see if I can keep it going."

TOP WOMEN'S MATCH: IGA SWIATEK V ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA

Former champion Iga Swiatek cruised past qualifier Ena Shibahara in the second round, losing just one game in the match.

The five-time Grand Slam winner did not lose a single game against Pavlyuchenkova when they met last year.

"I'm playing, you know, not overpowering (tennis), but trying to be really solid and picking the right shots and being proactive. I'm happy with everything," Swiatek said.

"I was just trying to stay in the zone... I just want to play and keep playing the same way."

SINNER BATTLES