New York (AFP) – Defending singles champions Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka sailed into the last 16 of the US Open on Friday as tennis icons Serena and Venus Williams suffered an agonizing defeat on their long-awaited return to Grand Slam doubles. Alcaraz, coming off a four-month injury absence, beat China’s Wu Yibing 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 to book his place in the fourth round while Sabalenka was similarly dominant in a 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Kamilla Rakhimova.
Alcaraz will face 20th-seeded American Tommy Paul for a place in the quarter-finals after Paul beat 15th-seeded Alexander Bublik 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-1, 6-3. “The way he plays is unbelievable, the rhythm he has on every shot — forehand, backhand,” Alcaraz said of Wu. “His balls skid a lot on the court and, for me, it’s really difficult to control sometimes. But I think I stayed there. I played aggressive. I played smart in the toughest moments.” Wu recovered an early break in each of the first two sets, but Alcaraz pocketed both with breaks in the final games, and after saving a pair of break points in the first game of the third, the Spaniard rolled home. “I think my level is really good,” he said. “I’ve got into the rhythm of the competition. I’m getting there.”
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World number one Sabalenka didn’t face a break point in her dismissal of Rakhimova, firing 29 winners with 10 aces. The numbers didn’t tell the whole tale of a match that saw 92nd-ranked Rakhimova challenge Sabalenka in a second-set slugfest. Sabalenka was also unimpressed by the pervasive smell of marijuana — an increasingly common issue at the US Open — wafting down from the stands during her match. “It’s a bit tricky to handle that smell while you’re trying to compete at your best,” said Sabalenka, who at one point complained to the umpire about the issue. Sabalenka, who must repeat as champion to have a chance of remaining number one, next faces Taylor Townsend, the 96th-ranked American who beat 15th-seeded Russian Diana Shnaider 6-2, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3.
With Alcaraz and Sabalenka among the early starters, all eyes in the evening session were on the Williams sisters, partnering in a Grand Slam doubles event for the first time since 2022. The duo returned to the US Open stage after 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena came out of a four-year retirement to play at Wimbledon. However, the most famous sister act in tennis — who won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together along with three Olympic gold medals — were beaten 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (10/7) by 14th seeds Chan Hao-ching of Taiwan and Australia’s Maya Joint in a marathon three-hour battle. The Williams duo showed flashes of their brilliant best after recovering from losing the first set to level the match by taking the second set on a tie-break. Momentum and a raucous New York crowd appeared to carry them toward victory after they sprinted into a 5-0 lead in the third set tie-break, but Chan and Joint fought back superbly to erase the deficit before clinching victory.
In other singles action on Friday, third-seeded American Jessica Pegula, one of the players with a chance to knock Sabalenka off her No. 1 perch, mounted a desperate fightback to beat Canadian Leylah Fernandez 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 in a battle of former finalists. Elsewhere, Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk beat Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3, 6-2, and American Emma Navarro upset seventh-seeded Czech Karolina Muchova 6-3, 7-5.
Back in the men’s draw, American 11th seed Frances Tiafoe was a comfortable 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 victor over Monaco’s Valentin Vacherot, seeded 22. Tiafoe’s win earned him a last 16 showdown with Russian seventh seed Daniil Medvedev. Medvedev was a similarly unfussy winner over French 26th seed Arthur Rinderknech, easing to a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win in just under two hours. Unseeded former world number three Stefanos Tsitsipas, whose ranking has plummeted to 53, meanwhile toppled 18th seed Jiri Lehecka, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7/3), 6-1 to reach the US Open fourth round for the first time. Tsitsipas’s fourth round opponent will be the winner of the late game between American eighth seed Ben Shelton and Canada’s Denis Shapovalov.
© 2024 AFP
