New York (AFP) – Carlos Alcaraz marched into the quarter-finals of the US Open on Sunday as women’s fourth seed Jessica Pegula shrugged off her recent run of poor form to advance to the last eight. Spanish second seed Alcaraz, the 2022 champion, stayed on course for a semi-final showdown against Novak Djokovic after overpowering France’s Arthur Rinderknech in straight sets. The 22-year-old five-time Grand Slam champion was made to work hard in a hard-fought first set but eventually pulled away to win 7-6 (7/3), 6-3, 6-4 on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.
“I think my style of tennis suits pretty well the energy here in New York,” said Alcaraz, who has yet to drop a set at the tournament. “The energy is special playing the day session, playing the night session. It doesn’t matter, people are always there. I love it and I think that’s why I play my best tennis here,” he added. The win moves Alcaraz a step closer to a potential last four assignment with tennis icon Djokovic. Djokovic, 38, continues his latest bid for a record 25th Grand Slam singles title later Sunday in a night match against unseeded German Jan-Lennard Struff. Alcaraz will face Czech 20th seed Jiri Lehecka in the quarter-finals on Tuesday. Lehecka reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for only the second time after battling past veteran Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, winning 7-6 (7/4), 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.
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“I’m a bit speechless because it’s been a hell of a match,” said Lehecka, who is poised to crack the top 20 after matching his quarter-final run at the 2023 Australian Open. “Definitely an unbelievable week and a half for me. I’ve been playing well,” he said. The other men’s fourth round match on Sunday sees the lone American man left in the draw, fourth seed Taylor Fritz, facing the Czech Republic’s Tomas Machac.
In the women’s draw, last year’s beaten finalist Pegula admitted she had surprised herself by extending her campaign into a second week. Pegula arrived in New York on the back of a dismal run of form that had seen her make early exits from WTA tournaments in Washington, Montreal, and Cincinnati on the North American hardcourt swing. But the 31-year-old American swatted aside compatriot Ann Li in an emphatic 6-1, 6-2 victory in just 54 minutes.
“I felt terrible coming into this tournament, honestly,” Pegula said afterwards. The American revealed that a pre-tournament night out with friends at an escape room had helped her bring a more relaxed attitude to her campaign. “Went and did an escape room with my friends and had, like, two drinks and was, like, I need to just chill and stop getting so frustrated and overthinking all these practices,” she said. Pegula will face either compatriot Taylor Townsend or the Czech Republic’s unseeded Barbora Krejcikova in the quarter-finals, who were also playing on Sunday.
If the tournament follows the seedings, Pegula will face a repeat of last year’s final in the semi-finals, where defending champion Aryna Sabalenka may be lying in wait. Sabalenka will look to lock down her quarter-final place on Sunday in a match against unseeded Spanish player Cristina Bucsa. Sunday’s other women’s game sees a battle of two former Wimbledon champions, with Kazakh ninth seed Elena Rybakina facing Czech Marketa Vondrousova.
© 2024 AFP
