Australia's Rinky Hijikata [Source: AAP]
Emerging Australian tennis star Rinky Hijikata has secured a career-high ranking with a mighty pre-US Open comeback win at the ATP Tour event in North Carolina.
Hijikata was one game away from defeat against Borna Coric in their third-round clash in Winston-Salem before fighting back from the brink of elimination to reach the quarter-finals on Thursday.
Coric served for the match at 5-3 in the third set, but never-say-die Hijikata broke back before sealing a 3-6 6-3 7-5 victory over Croatia’s one-time world No.12.
The 16th seed’s victory set up a quarter-final clash with Belgian veteran David Goffin, who had earlier scored a straight-sets win over Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech.
It also provided the 23-year-old with a huge shot of confidence heading back to New York for the season’s final grand slam starting on Monday.
Hijikata made an inspired run to the last 16 as a wildcard at last year’s US Open and will be defending a truckload of rankings points at Flushing Meadows.
But he can take heart in being assured of climbing further in the standings from his current position as world No.65.
Hijikata could conceivably crack the top 50 if he wins the title this week.
His progression came as fellow Sydneysider Aleksandar Vukic went agonisingly close to joining him in the quarter-finals, falling in three sets to Spain’s Pablo Carreno-Busta.
The Spaniard, who has been ranked as high as No.10 in the world, clinched the first set 6-4.
Vukic took the second set to force a decider, with Carreno-Busta hanging on to claim a 6-4 4-6 6-3 victory.
The Spaniard’s reward is a quarter-final against American Learner Tien, who beat Brazil’s Thiago Seyboth Wild in straight sets.
Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego received an easy passage after the pre-match withdrawal of Chinese player Juncheng Shang.
In other matches, Russia’s Pavel Kotov and American Christopher Eubanks each scored three-set wins to also advance, while another American, Alex Michelsen, notched a comfortable straight-sets victory over Belgium’s Zizou Bergs.
