Seventh seed Kei Nishikori was knocked out of the US Open by 20-year-old Australian Alex de Minaur in the third round.

The Japanese, runner-up here in 2014, went two sets down before a brief fightback in a 6-2 6-4 2-6 6-3 defeat.

For Australian world number 38 De Minaur, one of the game's rising stars, it was his first win over a top-10 player.

He will face Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov or Poland's Kamil Majchrzak next.

"This is where I feel like my game's at," De Minaur said after reaching the last 16 of a Grand Slam for the first time.

"I want to be pushing second weeks of Grand Slams and putting myself out there. So very happy. Hopefully I can just keep it rolling."

Last year the Australian squandered a two-set lead against 2014 champion Marin Cilic to lose in five sets in the third round here.

"Last year it was a bit of a heartbreaking match for me," he said. "It stung a lot, but you learn so much from it. You know that that's your level."

De Minaur, who has won two ATP titles this year, is joined in the last 16 by Stan Wawrinka, who reached the fourth round for the first time since winning the title in 2016.

The Swiss 23rd seed edged a tight encounter with Italian Paolo Lorenzi 6-4 7-6 (11-9) 7-6 (7-4) to set up a meeting with defending champion Novak Djokovic or American Denis Kudla.

Meanwhile, Belgium's David Goffin beat Spaniard Pablo Carreno-Busta 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (11-9) 7-5 and will next take on 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer, who knocked out Briton Dan Evans.

Six-time champion Serena Williams is safely through to the fourth round of the US Open after a routine victory over Czech Karolina Muchova.

The American won 6-3 6-2 after converting five of nine break points against the Wimbledon quarter-finalist.

Williams was broken back midway through the second set but it was an otherwise flawless display.

Second seed Ashleigh Barty is also through after a 7-5 6-3 win over Greek 30th seed Maria Sakkari.

And third seed Karolina Pliskova overcame a mid-match blip to beat Tunisia's Ons Jabeur 6-1 4-6 6-4.

The Czech 2016 finalist had been a set and a break up and had appeared to be cruising before Jabeur took a medical timeout early in the second set and won five games in a row to make a match of it.

Pliskova will face British number one Johanna Konta in the fourth round after the 16th seed defeated China's Zhang Shuai 6-2 6-3.

They are joined in the fourth round by Ukrainian fifth seed Elina Svitolina, who beat compatriot Dayana Yastremska 6-2 6-0 in just 54 minutes.

She will face 10th seed and 2017 runner-up Madison Keys, who battled past fellow American Sofia Kenin 6-3 7-5 after taking a medical timeout in the second set because she "did not feel 100%".

She had been cruising but her level dropped in the second set and she had her pulse and blood pressure checked while trailing 4-3. But she continued playing and went on to get a decisive break in the 11th game before serving out the match.

Meanwhile, Australian French Open champion Barty will take on Chinese 18th seed Wang Qiang or France's Fiona Ferro.

Williams, who is still seeking to equal Australian Margaret Court's all-time record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles, will play Croatian 22nd seed Petra Martic in round four.

Martic, a French Open quarter-finalist, defeated Latvian 12th seed Anastasija Sevastova 6-4 6-3 on court 10.

British number two Dan Evans was outclassed as Swiss great Roger Federer rediscovered his best form to ease into the US Open fourth round.

Federer, 38, played with his trademark fluency in a 6-2 6-2 6-1 victory on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The third seed had dropped the first sets in both of his previous two matches, but played with a swagger.

Five-time champion Federer, who lost in the last 16 last year, will play Belgian 15th seed David Goffin next.

Evans was playing his second match in 24 hours after only completing his three-hour victory over French 25th seed Lucas Pouille at about 15:00 local time on Thursday.

Despite only leaving the Flushing Meadows site at about 18:00, the world number 58 had to be back to play Federer at midday on Friday.

"I was fatigued, I thought it was pretty tough to be first up after playing yesterday if I'm brutally honest," Evans, 29, said.

"Him being totally fresh and me battling yesterday, it is completely polar opposite.

"To try and beat him being tired, stiff, and having played four sets… it is nigh on impossible.

"He played near-perfect tennis."

Shortest match and Federer's 'golden set'

Evans, resurrecting his career after being without a ranking last year, pushed the 20-time Grand Slam champion when they met at the Australian Open in January but the 29-year-old could not impose himself in what proved to be a miserable first appearance on Ashe.

The Briton did not look overawed by the occasion as he stepped out in the lunchtime New York heat, laughing with Federer and basketball legend Kobe Bryant - who was helping with the coin toss - at the net.

But the smiles soon turned to grimaces as he was beaten in one hour 20 minutes - the shortest completed men's match of the tournament.

Evans played some wonderful stuff in his second-round win over 25th seed Lucas Pouille on Thursday, albeit helped by an erratic display from the Frenchman who could not land a first serve and clocked up 81 unforced errors.

Here, he was given no help by Federer.

The Swiss, perhaps benefiting by an extra day off than Evans, showed his intentions by starting the match with an ace and was then allowed to dictate his service games, pushing forward regularly and finishing by winning 69% of his 36 net points.

The second set flashed by Evans, with Federer not dropping a single point on his serve and hitting 20 winners compared to none from the Briton.

"In the locker room we call that a golden set," former player Jeff Tarango said on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra commentary. "It's a golden serving set - it's so hard to serve a whole set without losing a point and we've just seen Roger Federer do it.

"Federer is definitely going to talk about it at dinner."

Evans earned some brief respite in the third by breaking back for 2-1 and showed his relief with a huge roar.

That could not inspire a change of fortunes, however, Federer stepping up to immediately regain his advantage and then win the next three games to seal a comfortable win.

British number one Johanna Konta was in devastating form to beat China's Zhang Shuai and reach the US Open fourth round.

The 29-year-old won 6-2 6-3 in 71 minutes to reach the last 16 for the third Grand Slam in a row.

Konta, ranked 16th in the world, will face Czech third seed Karolina Pliskova for a place in the quarter-finals.

She is the last Briton left in the singles at Flushing Meadows after Dan Evans lost to Roger Federer earlier.

"I'm really pleased. I am playing tough opponents and every match is difficult," she said.

"They are never clean and straightforward matches, there are always two players on court. There was nothing easy about that match. I had to stay clear on what was happening in the match."

Rather like in the previous round on Thursday, where she overcame Margarita Gasparyan in just 54 minutes, Konta seized control from the start.

She broke in the opening game and never looked back, dominating on her serve with impressive figures of 88% of first-serve points won and 80% of second-serve points.

That meant Zhang, who was seeded 33rd, managed to win just six points on the Briton's serve in the match.

"It felt a lot more difficult and I had to work harder than it sounds like from the stats," Konta, who did not realise she had dropped so few points on her serve, told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"I think there were a lot of things to contend with. My opponent is a good returner so credit to her that I played behind my serves as well.

"Overall, I'm pleased to have dealt with the different challenges out there."

The 16th seed, who reached the semi-finals at the French Open and the quarter-finals at Wimbledon this year, equalled her best run at Flushing Meadows when she forced Zhang to hit long on her second match point.

She had arrived in New York on the back of successive first-round defeats at the two tournaments she played since Wimbledon but seems to have rediscovered the form that marked her excellent clay-court season, where she reached two WTA tournament finals.

In the next round here, she faces 2016 US Open runner-up Pliskova - the player who beat her in straight sets in the Italian Open final in May.

"For tonight, enjoy this success and tomorrow have a chat and look to move forward," Konta said. "I have played her quite a few times, she has got the better of me more times than I have her but I'm looking forward to playing a Grand Slam finalist."

Analysis

British tennis player Naomi Broady on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

I'm so impressed with Jo; it's the best I've ever seen her play - the variety, the moonballs, the slice. She has the highest statistics on all the stats.

It is such impressive tennis. It's not just that she's winning the points, it's how she is winning them. The 5-10% of mixed variety, it's so exciting for her game.

The Calamity in Cardiff, the Horror of Houston, the Nightmare in Nice - the lowlights reel of Scotland's travails away from the warm bosom of Murrayfield is long and downright ugly.

Skelped in Suva, trounced at Twickenham in 2017 - there was no miracle comeback that day - the list goes on and the secret to curing their away-day struggles seems no closer to discovery.

It must be said that this inability to produce anything remotely resembling top form away from home is not exclusive to Gregor Townsend or the current crop of players. The thing is, though, the current crop of players are the best Scotland have been able to call upon in a long time.

And there is evidence, when they get things right, they can be a force away from home. The stunning win in Sydney over Australia in Townsend's second game in charge. An impressive dismantling of Argentina in Resistencia. The fight-back of all fight-backs at Twickenham in March.

Those moments are bright spots in an otherwise bleak picture, though. Scotland have won just two of 40 games at the home of England, France, Wales and Ireland in the Six Nations era. Yes, two.

Their most recent away assignment took them to Nice for the first of four World Cup warm-up matches. For the second time this year, they were brutalised into submission by a French team who deployed the weapon Away Scotland (a different proposition entirely to Home Scotland) have been continually unable to cope with - power.

Home Scotland met fire with fire in the physical stakes and largely nullified France at Murrayfield last weekend. But Away Scotland are yet to prove they can stand up and face down powerful opponents - and Saturday's opponents will have plenty of power.

'Georgia will go full metal jacket'

Georgia will be pumped for this match, make no mistake. They have been waiting a long time for this.

Rugby's ludicrously outdated Tier system means the leading nations have been able to largely ignore the lesser lights who reside outside their exclusive club. The odd invitation to travel to the big guns for a one-off Test match? Perhaps. But going to Georgia? No thanks.

Scotland are the first to come here for a meaningful match and they deserve credit for doing so. This will be no welcome party, though. Georgia see this as a chance to make a statement, to add more fuel to the idea the Six Nations should one day become the Seven Nations.

Scotland must be ready for a side going full metal jacket. On paper, Townsend's side are clearly the superior team but the forwards will have to match up to a formidable pack if the backs are to make their greater quality shine through.

A front row compromising Montpellier loosehead Mikheil Nariashvili, former Glasgow hooker Shalva Mamukashvili and Grenoble's Beka Gigashvili is a combination that will throw down a monstrous challenge to Scottish counterparts Allan Dell, Stuart McInally and Willem Nel.

Behind the scrum has traditionally been where Georgia's problems arise, but in scrum-half Vasil Lobzhanidze and fly-half Tedo Abzhandadze - who will continue their partnership at French side Brive next season - they possess a half-back combination with the quality to hurt the Scots should the home side begin to exert dominance up front.

Townsend's decision to select so many of his key men - Stuart McInally and Hamish Watson in the pack, Greig Laidlaw and Finn Russell at half-back - speaks to a determination, even a desperation, to pick up a rare away win.

The thought of going into a World Cup without Russell or Watson does not bear thinking about from a Scottish perspective, but it seems the prospect of travelling to Japan with a damaging defeat in Tbilisi fresh in the players' minds is an equally unpalatable prospect for the head coach.

Georgia will carry every ball with thunderous physicality, scrummage for their lives, hit each ruck as if its their last, roared on by 55,000 passionate fans. Scotland must be ready for it, for all of it.

The players have spoken often about how away games are largely about getting the mindset right. On too many occasions minds have turned to mush and the damage has been irreparable.

Will we get the timidity of Away Scotland? Or will we see some of the Murrayfield spirit in the hothouse of the Dinamo Arena? Only the latter will do.

Warren Gatland says telling players they will miss out on the 2019 World Cup is the hardest part of his job as Wales coach.

He will name his 31-man squad on Sunday - 24 hours after Wales play Ireland in a warm-up match in Cardiff.

Gatland says seven or eight places are still up for grabs before he announces his final party for Japan.

"Sometimes you get one chance and for some of them that chance is on Saturday," said Gatland.

In his final home match in charge of Wales before he quits after the 2019 World Cup, Gatland has made 14 changes from the side that defeated England.

It is a second-string Wales side but a team that will be having a final audition for a World Cup place.

When asked which players he knew would be on the plane to Japan, Gatland said: "I haven't gone through that exercise definitely, but probably 23 or 24 I suppose.

"Having spoken to the players they are aware of the opportunity, they have made a lot of progress in the 12 or 13 weeks together.

"The training camps have been fantastic and we've been very impressed with the players."

Following the World Cup selection meeting on Saturday night, there will be nine disappointed players missing out when the party is announced at 14:00 BST on Sunday.

The players have been given different options on hearing the news ranging from a telephone call, email, text or finding out live.

"It is the hardest part of the job," said Gatland.

"It's tough because I know first-hand what it's like to miss out on a World Cup, because it happened to me with the All Blacks in 1991.

"I wasn't selected in the squad and was watching it live on TV. I know how disappointed those players who aren't selected are going to be when they watch the squad on Sunday."

Ireland coach Joe Schmidt has made 11 changes to the team that were heavily beaten 57-15 at Twickenham last weekend.

Wales will retain their world number one ranking if they win on Saturday, but will drop to second if they draw and fourth if they lose.

In turn, Ireland will take top spot if they win by more than 15 points in Cardiff.

Wales: Amos; Lane, S Williams, Watkin, S Evans; J Evans, A Davies; Carre, Elias, Lee, Beard, B Davies, Shingler, J Davies Navidi (c).

Replacements: Dee, R Evans, Brown, Ball, Moriarty, T Williams, Patchell, Holmes.

Ireland: Addison; Conway, Farrell, Aki, Stockdale; Carty, Marmion; Kilcoyne, Scannell, John Ryan, Henderson, James Ryan; Beirne, O'Mahony (c), Conan.

Replacements: Best, Porter, Furlong, Toner, Murphy, L McGrath, Ringrose, D Kearney.

Referee: Romain Poite (France)

Assistant referees: Jérôme Garcès (France), Karl Dickson (England).

TMO: Rowan Kitt (England).