"I'm speechless right now. So many times I thought I was so close to get the US Open title. It has always been a dream of mine and finally I got this beautiful trophy," said Sabalenka.

Frances Tiafoe blamed his heartbreaking five-set US Open semi-final defeat to Taylor Fritz on cramping after his "body shut down".

The 23-year-old Italian is the only man to have made the quarter-finals of all four majors this season.

Top seed Swiatek, who won the title two years ago, showcased her all-court game in a straightforward 6-4, 6-1 win over Russian Liudmila Samsonova to open the evening session at Arthur Ashe Stadium and warned she was only going to improve.

The 20-year-old's exit means Serena Williams remains the last woman to successfully defend the US Open title back in 2014.

Four-time French Open champion Swiatek was equally dominant as Sinner as the top-seeded Pole eased into the fourth round with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Djokovic, a four-time champion at the tournament and seeking a record 25th Grand Slam title, was leading 6-4, 6-4, 2-0 when Djere called it quits.

In the middle of the afternoon at Flushing Meadows, the searing heat reached 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit).

Sinner marked his return to the courts for the first time since it was revealed he had failed two drugs tests, coming back from a set and break down to defeat Mackenzie McDonald at the US Open.

Midnight matches may be popular with fans but not with old campaigner Novak Djokovic, who bemoaned a late night at the start of his U.S. Open title defence on Monday.

Djokovic arrived on Arthur Ashe Stadium for his 40th career night match at the tournament with two gold bags slung over his shoulder in a nod to his recent Olympic success in Paris.

Gauff, seeded third, fired 10 aces and needed just 66 minutes to beat 66th-ranked Gracheva. She saved eight break points -- including two with aces in the final game

The US Open brings down the curtain on the 2024 Grand Slam season with newly minted Olympic gold medallist Novak Djokovic aiming to add to his cache of major titles after failing to do so since bagging No. 24 at Flushing Meadows last year.

Djokovic, who will once again bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows, has been upstaged by younger rivals this season, losing to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open semi-finals and Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final.

Alcaraz won his first Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows in 2022. He's piled up three more since then, including this year's French Open and Wimbledon.

Tennis world number one Jannik Sinner said Friday he was relieved to escape a doping ban after twice testing positive for a banned substance, even though he said that he hasn't "done anything wrong."

World number one Jannik Sinner is "honest to the core" and is an "innocent victim" his coach Darren Cahill said after the Italian was cleared of any wrongdoing despite twice testing positive for a banned substance.

Tennis world number one Jannik Sinner has been cleared of any wrongdoing after twice testing positive for a banned substance earlier in the season, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced Tuesday.

Jack Draper defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime at the US Open warm-up event on Friday despite a suspicion the ball hit the Briton's racquet and then the floor before it popped over the net to secure the match-winning point.

"I'm human, the nerves had accumulated and sometimes it is very tough to control when there is that tension. I will work so that it doesn't happen again."