While Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal opted out of the tournament, Novac Djokovic became the hot favourite to claim an 18th Grand Slam title, but the Serbian's disqualification for unintentionally hitting a line judge with a shot has left the tournament wide open for a new winner. Not since Stan Wawrinka's 2016 U.S. Open victory has a Grand Slam been won by someone other than the "Big Three", winners of the last 13 major titles.
You have to go way back to the 2004 French Open where Roger was stopped in the third round by Gustavo Kuerten for the last Slam without either Djokovic, Federer or Nadal in the quarter-finals.
On Sunday, Djokovic's rivals also expressed shock, who was disqualified when trailing 6-5 in the first set against Pablo Carreno Busta.
"Now I think is the time where it gets really interesting," said fifth seed Alexander Zverev, who thrashed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in straight sets.
Zverev meets Croatian 27th seed Borna Coric in the quarter-finals and could have faced Djokovic in the semis.
Touted as a future Grand Slam champion since his teen years, German Zverev made the Australian Open semi-finals in January and is well positioned in New York to fulfil that promise.
"It's going to be one of the young guys (winning), I think, if you count Dominic Thiem as a young guy, as well," said Zverev of the 27-year-old Austrian.
"He obviously has a chance to win, as well."
Second seed Thiem, who stopped Zverev at Melbourne Park and pushed Djokovic to five sets in the final, is the major threat on the other half of the draw.
The three-times Grand Slam finalist faces Canadian young gun Felix Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round before a potential quarter-final against unseeded Vasek Pospisil or Australian 21st seed Alex de Minaur.
One of the biggest dangers to Thiem's hopes of a Grand Slam breakthrough may be last year's finalist Daniil Medvedev, a likely semi-final foe.
(With Reuters inputs)
