Pablo Carreno Busta defies the odds to stay in the hunt for a new major winner at the US Open

From the moment Novak Djokovic petulantly hit a ball into the throat of a line judge in his last-16 encounter against Pablo Carreno Busta, men’s tennis was set for its first Grand Slam winner outside the big three since Stan Wawrinka.

Thirteen Grand Slams have been won by Djokovic, Roger Federer or Rafae Nadal since Wawrinka’s victory at Flushing Meadows in 2016.

Carreno Busta had been the beneficiary of Djokovic’s poor behaviour and made the opportunity count to edge out Denis Shapovalov in a contest which ebbed and flowed dramatically in its final moments.

The former semi-finalist in New York in 2017 looked destined for a flight back home to Spain after losing the fourth set without winning a game.

But following treatment for a back issue, the 29-year-old recovered for a 3-6, 7-6, 7-6, 0-6, 6-3 victory to put him in contention to be the oldest first-time Grand Slam winner since Goran Ivanisevic’s win at Wimbledon in 2001.

In defeat, Shapovalov said: “I don’t think any of the players have been in this situation often... maybe Dominic [Thiem] and Daniil [Medvedev] more often. There’s a lot of dark horses out there. It’s anybody’s slam, it’s very exciting for tennis.”

With such a prospect at stake, Carreno Busta admitted he had been riddled with nerves for the opening set before the later back issue that looked set to derail his ambitions.

“The physio told me that I was a little bit blocked,” he said. “He tried to do his things. It was incredible, no? After that I did not feel 100 per cent because we were playing like four hours, but I could play my best tennis again.”

Shapovalov was similarly surprised by the comeback.

“I didn’t expect him to come to life like that especially after the medical,” said the Canadian. “He looked dead in the fourth set. It’s a little bit shocking.”

Carreno Busta will now take on Alexander Zverev, who is into his second consecutive Grand Slam final. On the previous occasion, in Australia, he had come up against Thiem, who could potentially be a final opponent.

Zverev got off to a dire start against Borna Coric, but the fifth seed recovered for a 1-6, 7-6, 7-6, 6-3 victory.

Of the identity of Sunday’s tournament winner, he said: “We’re going to have a new Grand Slam champion, this is the one thing that we know for sure.

“We don’t know who it is, but there’s a lot of guys that want it, there’s a lot of guys that are hungry for it. It’s going to be interesting.”

The prospect of a first-time Grand Slam winner in the women’s draw still exists, with Jennifer Brady winning her quarter-final in straight sets against Yulia Putintseva, while the 2018 champion, Naomi Osaka, beat Shelby Rogers 6-3, 6-4 to edge closer to a third career Grand Slam title.

Continuining her theme of wearing a face mask with the name of black men and women killed in police custody, Osaka came on court with the name of George Floyd emblazoned across her face (left).

British hopes of a winner were dashed in the men’s doubles when Londoner Joe Salisbury, playing with Rajeev Ram, failed to make a second straight Grand Slam final after losing 7-6, 6-4 to Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Metic.