De Minaur suffers US Open seeding blow after Cincinatti boilover

Alex de Minaur suffered a disappointing fourth-round loss at the Cincinnati Masters, denying him a top-four seed for the upcoming US Open. De Minaur was defeated by France's rising star Arthur Fils 6-3, 6-4 in just 82 minutes. The Australian, currently the world number eight, had the opportunity to climb into the world's top five with a strong performance at the final Masters 1000 event before the season's last grand slam in New York.

However, De Minaur's performance fell short, as he dropped serve once in each set and failed to break his opponent, the 21st seed. This exit means de Minaur is now certain to be seeded in the top eight at Flushing Meadows, ensuring he will not face higher-ranked players until at least the quarterfinals. Unfortunately, Carlos Alcaraz's injury could have worked in de Minaur's favor, potentially securing him a top-four seeding and avoiding heavyweights like Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev until at least the semifinals.

Meanwhile, Australian qualifier Chris O'Connell will face American sixth seed Taylor Fritz in his fourth-round match in Cincinnati later on Thursday.