Carlos Alcaraz triumphed in a first-set tiebreaker and posted another straight-sets victory Sunday to advance to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open in New York.
The Spanish star and No. 2 seed defeated France’s Arthur Rinderknech 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-4. He’ll meet Czech 20th seed Jiri Lehecka in the quarters after Lehecka topped Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 7-6 (4), 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.
Alcaraz, at 22 years and three months old, became the youngest man to reach his 13th Grand Slam quarterfinal, according to the ATP Tour. He surpassed Boris Becker’s previous mark, as Becker was six months older when he notched quarterfinal bid No. 13.
Alcaraz also remained spotless in his U.S. Open run, having won all 12 sets he’s played. Alcaraz lost just four games in his second-round rout and six games in the third round.
The streak was in jeopardy early Sunday, as neither Alcaraz nor Rinderknech held serve throughout the first set. Rinderknech moved ahead 2-1 in the tiebreaker before Alcaraz rattled off the next five points and eased to victory.
“At the beginning of the first set, we were tight. We didn’t have break points in the first set, but it didn’t mean we were serving good, because the percentage was really bad from both,” Alcaraz said in his post-match interview. “I just (found) a good rhythm, a good position for the returns … I tried to make the most of the opportunities that he gave me, but there weren’t too many.”
Alcaraz did win a whopping 45 of 53 first-service points (84.9 percent) and capitalized when his opponent went to his second serve. Alcaraz won 20 of 38 second-return points (52.6 percent).
He hit 36 winners to just 11 unforced errors, while Rinderknech committed more unforced errors (28) than he had winners (25).
For Lehecka, it will be just his second quarterfinal appearance at a Grand Slam following the 2023 Australian Open. The 23-year-old hit 18 aces and overcame 10 double faults against Mannarino.
The two matches slated for Sunday evening will pit No. 4 seed Taylor Fritz against Czech No. 21 seed Tomas Machac and seventh-seeded Serbian star Novak Djokovic against Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff.
–Field Level Media
