Alcaraz into U.S. Open quarter-finals as Pegula advances

Carlos Alcaraz marched into the quarter-finals of the U.S. Open on Sunday as ladies’s fourth seed Jessica Pegula shrugged off her latest run of poor type to advance to the final eight.

Spanish second seed Alcaraz, the 2022 champion, stayed heading in the right direction for a semi-final showdown towards Novak Djokovic after overpowering France’s Arthur Rinderknech in straight units.

The 22-year-old five-time Grand Slam champion was made to work exhausting in a hard-fought first set however finally pulled away to win 7-6 (7/3), 6-3, 6-4 on the Arthur Ashe Stadium courtroom.

“I believe my model of tennis fits fairly properly the power right here in New York,” stated Alcaraz, who has but to drop a set on the match.

“The power is particular taking part in the day session, taking part in the night time session. It would not matter, individuals are all the time there. I find it irresistible and I believe that is why I play my greatest tennis right here,” he added.

The win strikes Alcaraz a step nearer to a possible final 4 project with tennis icon Djokovic.

Djokovic, 38, continues his newest bid for a document twenty fifth Grand Slam singles title later Sunday in an evening match towards unseeded German Jan-Lennard Struff.

Alcaraz will face Czech twentieth seed Jiri Lehecka within the quarter-finals on Tuesday.

Lehecka reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for under the second time after battling previous veteran Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, profitable 7-6 (7/4), 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.

“I am a bit speechless as a result of it has been a hell of a match,” stated Lehecka, who’s poised to crack the highest 20 after matching his quarter-final run on the 2023 Australian Open.

“Positively an unbelievable week and a half for me. I have been taking part in properly,” he stated.

The opposite males’s fourth spherical match on Sunday sees the lone American man left within the draw, fourth seed Taylor Fritz, dealing with the Czech Republic’s Tomas Machac.

Pegula rout

Within the ladies’s draw, final 12 months’s crushed finalist Pegula admitted she had stunned herself by extending her marketing campaign right into a second week.

Pegula arrived in New York on the again of a dismal run of type that had seen her make early exits from WTA tournaments in Washington, Montreal and Cincinnati on the North American hardcourt swing.

However the 31-year-old American swatted apart compatriot Ann Li in an emphatic 6-1, 6-2 victory in simply 54 minutes.

“I felt horrible coming into this match, truthfully,” Pegula stated afterwards.

The American revealed {that a} pre-tournament night time out with buddies at an escape room had helped her deliver a extra relaxed perspective to her marketing campaign.

“Went and did an escape room with my buddies and had, like, two drinks and was, like, I would like to simply chill and cease getting so pissed off and overthinking all these practices,” she stated.

Pegula will face both compatriot Taylor Townsend or the Czech Republic’s unseeded Barbora Krejcikova within the quarter-finals, who had been additionally taking part in on Sunday.

If the match follows the seedings, Pegula will face a repeat of final 12 months’s remaining within the semi-finals, the place defending champion Aryna Sabalenka could also be mendacity in wait.

Sabalenka will look to lock down her quarter-final place on Sunday in a match towards unseeded Spanish participant Cristina Bucsa.

Sunday’s different ladies’s sport sees a battle of two former Wimbledon champions, with Kazakh ninth seed Elena Rybakina dealing with Czech Marketa Vondrousova.