Federer and Nadal had both opted out of this year's tournament, while Djokovic exited in the fourth round after an infamous swat of his racket sent a tennis ball into a line judge's neck.
Wimbledon was scrapped for the first time since World War Two on Wednesday due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the suspension of professional tennis extended to July 13. The 38-year-old Federer is well insulated from the shutdown's financial fallout it could well impact his hopes of adding to his record haul of 20 Grand Slam titles.
Croatian Borna Coric saved six match points as he rallied from 5-1 down in the fourth set to stun Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-7(2), 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(4) and send the fourth seed tumbling out of the US Open in the third round on Friday.
Kim Clijsters and Venus Williams fell at the first hurdle
The 15-year-old American phenom was forced to dig deep to become the youngest player since Anna Kournikova in 1996 to reach the third round
The actress turns 37 today, April 16.
Novak Djokovic and Rogerer Federer loom over Melbourne Park for the year's opening Grand Slam as favourites for the Australian Open as questions remain as to whether one of Generation Next could finally end their stranglehold.
Rafael Nadal's decision to skip the US Open because of health concerns has added another twist to the intriguing three-way battle for the most career men's Grand Slam titles and, in many eyes, the title of Greatest Of All Time (GOAT). Had the 34-year-old Spaniard managed to retain the title he won in a five-set thriller against Daniil Medvedev last year, he would have joined Roger Federer at the top of the list with 20 titles. Instead, his decision has cleared the path for 33-year-old Novak Djokovic to edge to within one of Nadal's Grand Slam tally with a fourth title at Flushing Meadows and 18 in total.
A summary of Monday's action at the US Open.
Rafael Nadal said he was sad to have squandered an opportunity to do something special at the US Open with his fourth-round loss at Flushing Meadows, but happy with his effort and prospects going forward this season.
The 28-year-old said beating American great Williams was the finest win of her career, outstripping her upset of world number one Ash Barty at last year's US Open.
A fan favourite, Naomi Osaka has struggled with uneven play since she withdrew from Roland Garros earlier this year amid a public row with tournament officials over required media appearances.
After 17 trips to Flushing Meadows and six US Open titles Serena Williams did something on Thursday she had never done before -- win a match indoors.
Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina beat Martin Hingis and Italy's Flavia Pennetta 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 to capture the U.S. Open doubles title on Saturday, denying the Swiss a return to the Flushing Meadows winner circle for the first time in 16 years.
Defending US Open champion Rafael Nadal and twice winner Novak Djokovic are one victory away from renewing their rivalry in the final with both expected to get through their semis on Friday.
Asked if she could have all her titles and Venus all hers without having ever had to play each other, Serena said she would happily accept that deal.
The 28-year-old Spaniard sustained the injury in practice last month and has been training with a cast on his right wrist, forcing him to miss the Rogers Cup in Toronto and last week's Cincinnati Open.
The Scotsman doesn't expect to win US Open this year
US Open champion Sloane Stephens said she has no pity for Madison Keys after thrashing her 6-3, 6-0 in Saturday's final, given the huge runnersup check her friend will receive.
Keys is expected to be the aggressor on Arthur Ashe Stadium against a more defensive Stephens, one of the best retrievers on the tour.
Novak Djokovic finally clinched the title missing from his resume with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Roger Federer on Sunday to win in Cincinnati and become the first player to complete the sweep of Masters series tournaments on Sunday.
Emma Raducanu says she is not worried about her poor form and will play without pressure at the Australian Open.
'It was exciting and this is why I came to New York, to go through these emotions'
World No 1 Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams advanced safely to the next round of the US Open on Saturday but the women's draw saw yet another big upset as Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova was sent packing by a 145th-ranked qualifier.
Fifth seed Maria Sharapova averted an early exit on a sweltering day in Flushing Meadows. Updates from Wednesday's play.
Ukrainian fourth seed Elina Svitolina powered into the third round of the U.S. Open with a 6-4, 6-4 win against Russian Evgeniya Rodina on Thursday.
France's Alize Cornet thrashed an error-prone Eugenie Bouchard 6-1, 6-2 to win the Hobart International title on Saturday.
The postponement of the Tokyo Olympics has disappointed athletes around the world but, if the coronavirus pandemic eases over the next few months, it could turn out to be a blessing for the tennis world.
Key facts and records of American Serena Williams and Canada's Bianca Andreescu
'I think when I first started, you could win a lot of easy matches, then you're in the quarter-finals, that's when it starts to get a little more tough. Now, like, there's no easy match. Everyone's playing great. Everyone's just doing a lot better'
While Monfils's and Svitolina's relationship has blossomed, so have their respective games.
Djokovic struggled with both his serve and backhand during a 6-4, 7-6(3), 6-1 win over Argentine Juan Ignacio Londero and later said his left shoulder had been bothering him for weeks with the pain getting worse during the match.
Monday was also the first time in more than two decades that India had more than one player in the main draw of a Grand Slam singles, with Prajnesh Gunneswaran losing to world number five Daniil Medvedev in an earlier match.
Serena Williams squandered four match points and blew a 5-1 lead in the decider to fall to seventh seed Karolina Pliskova 6-4 4-6 7-5 in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
A summary of Sunday's action at the US Open.
Venus Williams stands in the way of younger sister Serena's bid for a calendar-year Grand Slam after reaching the quarter-finals with a 6-2, 6-1 rout of Estonian teenager Anett Kontaveit on Sunday.
The Serena Williams show continued at the US Open as the world number one moved a step closer to a calendar Grand Slam on Wednesday, while Mardy Fish took a final Flushing Meadows bow as the curtain came down on the American's career.
Inspired Garcia goes from Cincinnati qualifier to champion
Images from Day 10 of the 2021 US Open in New York on Thursday.
However, the 30-year-old Russia belied her own self-doubt with an impressive three-set win over the Romanian to thrust the former world number one back into the spotlight as the toast of the Big Apple.
