Table of Contents
- The race for the United States Open Championship continues to get interesting as Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic reaches the US Open last eight
- Next up for Djokovic in the last eight is Taylor Fritz, the home favorite
- Meanwhile, world number two Alcaraz will face Czech 20th seed Jiri Lehecka
The race for the United States Open Championship continues to get interesting as Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic reaches the US Open last eight.
World number two Alcaraz, who is aiming for a second US Open title, made it to the quarterfinals after beating Arthur Rinderknech 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 6-4 on Sunday. The Spaniard is one of the favorites to triumph in Flushing Meadows this year and is yet to drop a set. His next opponent is Czech 20th seed Jiri Lehecka who reached the quarters after a hard-fought win over Adrian Mannarino.
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic has continued with his amazing run at the US Open despite injury worries. The 38-year-old Serbian stormed to the last eight in style after thumping qualifier Jan-Lennard 6-3 6-3 6-2. He needed less than two hours to beat Jan-Lennard and became the second man with the most appearances (14) at US Open last eight, behind Jimmy Connors who played in 17 quarterfinals in New York.
Novak Djokovic is through to the quarterfinals of the US Open. Photo/ The Sun Malaysia.
Djokovic is playing at the US Open despite being in poor physical conditions. The Serb stayed out of action for a whole month, missing the ATP events in Toronto and Cincinnati, after losing in the semi-finals of Wimbledon in July. He seemed to be struggling in his first two matches in New York due to a lower back injury and questions were asked on how far he would reach at the tournament.
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However, he has pushed through and showed dominance against Jiri to reach the last eight. The 38-year-old fired 33 winners and 12 aces while ensuring he suffers no double faults on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Next up for Djokovic in the last eight is Taylor Fritz, the home favorite. Firtz reached the quarterfinals after a straight-set victory over Tomas Machac. He is the last American standing at the US Open.
Djokovic, who usually dedicates a violin celebration to his daughter Tara after every win, is looking forward to beating Fritz and reaching the semifinals as her birthday present. The 24-time Grand Slam champion revealed that his daughter was not happy that the match against Fritz will be on her birthday.
“She was not very happy about it, me being absent from the birthday party. Don’t remind me of that, please. I’ll try to win if I’m here. At least I’m going to try to win and give her that kind of present.” BBC Sport quotes Novak Djokovic.
How Carlos Alcaraz Stormed Into US Open Last Eight
Both Alcaraz and Arthur Rinderknech served below 50% on their first serves. The opening set was tight and there was not a single break point that went the way of either player.
Alcaraz eventually took the tie-break 7-3 before an untimely double-fault gave him the opportunity to go on a run of five successive points. However, he had to wait until the sixth game of the second set to record his first break points in the tensed match.
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Speaking after his victory over Rinderknech, Alcaraz said he always plays his best tennis at the US Open because the crowd are usually supportive even during trainings.
Carlos Alcaraz. Photo/ USOpen.org.
“Every time I step on the court for a match or training, people are always there, and the energy is special. The people are always there, enjoying tennis, bringing the best energy possible to the match. So I just love it. I think that’s why I play my best tennis here in New York.” Alcaraz is quoted by Sky Sports.
