Last year, Carlos Alcaraz enjoyed his breakthrough moment at the US Open. The Spaniard captured his maiden major title and rose to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time.

Twelve months on and the defending champion returns to New York, chasing his third Slam title. The top seed fired a warning to the rest of the field ahead of his opening match against Germany’s Dominik Koepfer.

“I feel that I’m more mature on court. I feel that I’m a better player than I was a year ago,” Alcaraz said in his pre-tournament press conference. “I got my first Grand Slam last year, but I feel like I’m more mature and I’m better.”

Alcaraz’s 53-6 record this season backs up his statement, with the 20-year-old clinching a Tour-leading six titles. The World No. 1 has demonstrated his ability to deal with pressure in 2023, clawing past Novak Djokovic in five sets to win Wimbledon in July.

As defending champion, Alcaraz is ready to deal with raised expectations again.

“I try to do exactly the same thing that I did last year, trying to practise the same way that I’m going to play, and focus on that. I’m not focus on the defending champion, the points, whatever,” Alcaraz said. “I’m just focused on showing my best level, trying to improve in every practice, and let’s see how it is going to be in the tournament.”

Alcaraz is seeded to meet sixth seed Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals in what would be a rematch of their epic clash at last year’s event. The Spaniard, who is also in the same half of the draw as 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev, is likely to have NBA star Jimmy Butler in support. Alcaraz and Butler have developed a close friendship since they first met a year ago.

“I started to know him one year ago, to have a close relationship that is pretty good,” Alcaraz said. “He’s a really huge fan of tennis. He trying to play. I think it’s great for tennis to have Jimmy coming to tournaments and supporting us. It’s great. Talking about me having him supporting me, a great athlete, NBA star, so it’s for me almost crazy to have a good relationship with someone like Jimmy.”

The 20-year-old arrives in New York as the World No. 1, but is unlikely to leave the event on top spot. If Djokovic, who beat Alcaraz in an epic Cincinnati final, wins his opening match, he will gain 20 points and guarantee his return to No. 1 on Monday 11 September. The Serbian is not defending any points, having not played last year’s event. The Spaniard is defending 2000 points.

Alcaraz, who did not win either of the ATP Masters 1000 events in Toronto or Cincinnati this month, is aiming to become the first man to successfully defend their US Open title since Roger Federer in 2008.

Top seed Borna Coric advanced to his third semi-final of the year after waiting out a four-hour thunderstorm delay before taking the court against 21-year-old Juan Manuel Cerundolo Thursday night in Winston-Salem.

The storm, initially with heavy rain and later with thunder and lightning, pushed back the start of the night session to around 10.30 pm, leaving officials with no option but to play the two remaining quarter-finals concurrently on Stadium and Court 2.

Coric claimed an early break in the first set against the left-handed World No. 100, who had just three tour-level wins this season coming into the tournament, and pushed on to a 6-3, 6-1 victory.

“I was serving really well and I was much happier with my return today,” said Coric. “Even though we had to wait four hours I wanted to play the match tonight so now I get to rest rather than playing two times tomorrow.”

The Croatian is chasing his fourth career title and first since he claimed the biggest title of his career just over a year ago at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati.

In Friday’s Saturday night semi-final, Coric faces a first-time Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Argentine Sebastian Baez, who is on the cusp of his second consecutive final after defeating Laslo Djere 6-3, 6-0.

Making his first appearance since winning the Kitzbuehel title on clay, the sixth seed came up clutch in the first set, rallying from 0/40 in the opening game of the match and ultimately saving all five break points he faced in the set.

Baez, who is up to No. 35 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race, is chasing his fourth career title.

“The first set was difficult for both of us but I tried to be focussed for every point,” Baez said. “He’s a very good player so I’m very happy to be through to the semi-finals.

“In Argentina I practised two weeks before this tournament and was with my family and my friends, which has given me confidence for this tournament.”

Coric and Baez will also play in the first round of the US Open.

Sebastian Korda’s delight at saving a match point to reach the Winston-Salem semi-finals Thursday has been shattered by his forced withdrawal from the tournament due to an ankle injury.

The 23-year-old American injured his left ankle when he slipped and fell midway through the third set of his 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(7) victory over veteran Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the first quarter-final match of the day.

Although he completed the match, after receiving treatment he announced his withdrawal shortly after 8pm. The withdrawal results in his would-be semi-final opponent, Czech Jiri Lehecka, advancing to the final.

“I have taken the tough decision to pull out. The ankle wasn’t getting any better,” Korda said. “Hopefully it gets better in the next couple of days. It was a tough decision but a necessary one. I’ll keep my head up and hopefully recover for next week.

“I’m very grateful for having being given a wild card and the chance to play a tonne of matches. It’s a great facility with great fans.”

Korda, who captured his only tour-level trophy in Parma in 2021, recovered from failing to serve out the match at 5-4 in the third set. He struck two double faults in the game, but responded in the decisive tie-break, saving one match point at 6/7 before converting on his third opportunity to advance after two hours and 31 minutes.

The 23-year-old, currently No. 30 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, now leads Gasquet 2-0 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

Lehecka, who will now advance to Saturday’s final, ousted Australian Max Purcell 7-6(4), 6-4. Purcell challenged the Czech by often moving forward, but the 21-year-old Next Gen ATP Finals runner-up stayed steady from the baseline and won 84 per cent of his first-serve points to advance moments before heavy rain in North Carolina.

“Super happy with my win today. After two three-setters, to finally finish in straight sets against a player like Max is always special,” Lehecka said. “To [finish] before the rain came is a bonus. I’m very happy with my performance today.”

Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow continued their Winston-Salem Open run on Thursday when they booked their ticket to the semi-finals.

After ousting top seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury in the opening round, the Americans cruised past Simone Bolelli and Mate Pavic 6-3, 6-2 in just 64 minutes. Lammons and Withrow, who are aiming for their third tour-level title of the season (Newport, Atlanta), will next clash against third seeds Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski.

Second seeds Lloyd Glasspool and Neal Skupski also advanced to the last four Thursday after they saved a match point to down Australians Matthew Ebden and John-Patrick Smith 7-5, 4-6, 11-9. The British duo won three straight points from 8-9 in the Match Tie-break to set a meeting against Marcelo Demoliner and Matwe Middelkoop or Romain Arneodo and Ariel Behar.

#NextGenATP lefties Dominic Stricker and Shang Juncheng secured US Open qualifying wins Thursday to move one step closer towards making their maiden main-draw appearance at the season’s final major.

The Swiss Stricker survived fellow #NextGenATP star Pablo Llamas Ruiz 6-7(2), 6-4, 7-6(13-11) in a dramatic two hours, 41 minutes. Stricker and the Spaniard were locked at 9/9 in the Match Tie-break when rain stopped play for nearly three hours.

When players returned to court, the 22nd seed Stricker put the finishing touches on the victory, converting his third match point, to set a meeting with Argentine Thiago Agustin Tirante, who ousted American Brandon Holt 7-6(4), 6-3.

Shang, 18, downed home hope Patrick Kypson 6-4, 7-6(2) after winning 81 per cent of his first-serve points to set a meeting with 28th seed Finn Otto Virtanen. 

The 21-year-old Stricker is 10th in the Pepperstone ATP Race to Jeddah, while Shang is 17th. This year’s Next Gen ATP Finals, which hosts the season’s best 21-and-under players, will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Stricker is aiming for a second consecutive appearance at the event. The Chinese star Shang is seeking his maiden qualification.

In other action Thursday at Flushing Meadows, Chinese Taipei’s Yu Hsiou Hsu escaped 20th seed Benoit Paire 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. Third seed Federico Coria cruised past American Martin Damm 6-3, 6-2. Fourth seed Taro Daniel defeated South Korean Seongchan Hong 6-2, 4-6, 6-1.

When Ryan Peniston was one, he faced an immense challenge for which no family wishes.

The Briton was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a soft tissue cancer found in children, forcing him to have surgery to remove a tumour before undergoing an extensive period of chemotherapy in London. Now the 27-year-old Peniston, who has been cancer-free since his toddler years, wants to impact families who are walking that same difficult path.

Since last summer, Peniston has been an ambassador for the charity organisation Young Lives vs. Cancer.

“They help kids and their families that are going through cancer and all the troubles that it brings, the costs, the hardships,” Peniston said. “They do some great work and I’m just happy to be a part of it and to try and spread awareness and help in any way.

“It’s hugely important to me, mainly because of my history, I had cancer myself as a young child. So I definitely relate to what the families are going through and what the kids are going through. I want to try and inspire the kids if I can and just help show them that it’s possible to get better and still live out your dreams.”

On a much smaller scale than battling cancer, Peniston recently enjoyed a significant milestone on court. The Essex native captured his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title last week at the Winnipeg National Bank Challenger presented by MBuilds, where he defeated #NextGenATP Swiss Leandro Riedi in the championship match.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ATP Challenger Tour (@atpchallengertour)

Despite falling short in his previous three Challenger finals, Peniston stayed focussed in a deciding set against Riedi to lift the trophy.

“It’s an amazing feeling. It’s something I’ve worked towards for a while now,” Peniston said. “And to come away with the title feels great.

“It came into my head that I’ve made three finals before and I obviously didn’t want to lose another final. And then you think about, ‘What if I never win one?’ But I managed to keep thinking positive, keep talking positive to myself, and I managed to get over the line in the end.”

At World No. 208 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, the former University of Memphis standout will next look to maintain his form at the Cassis Challenger, which runs from 4-10 September.

Arthur Fils and Ben Shelton lead a quartet of #NextGenATP contenders at this year’s US Open, where the young stars will aim to earn standout wins to boost their chances of qualifying for the Next Gen ATP Finals as Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, prepares to host the event for the first time.

The 19-year-old Frenchman Fils, currently fourth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Jeddah (908 points), is making his debut in New York and begins against 24th seed Tallon Griekspoor, who has won two tour-level titles this season.

Shelton, 20, made his debut at the hard-court major last year, falling to Nuno Borges in the first round. The American will hope to go deeper this fortnight, starting against Argentine Pedro Cachin. Shelton is fifth in the Live Race To Jeddah (735 points), having advanced to the second round in Toronto and Cincinnati earlier this month.

Shelton’s Countryman Alex Michelsen enjoyed a breakthrough run on home soil in Newport in July when he advanced to his first tour-level final. The 18-year-old, who is seventh in the Live Race To Jeddah (447 points), plays Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the first round. Michelsen is making his Slam debut and reached the third round in Winston-Salem this week.

The American could face fellow #NextGenATP star Luca Van Assche in the second round. The Frenchman, 19, meets 23rd seed Nicolas Jarry. Van Assche is sixth in the Live Race To Jeddah (587 points), with his best result this season a run to the quarter-finals in Hamburg.

The Next Gen ATP Finals will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from 28 November-2 December.