Carlos Alcaraz continued his march towards becoming the youngest World No. 1 in Pepperstone ATP Rankings in the early hours of Tuesday morning, when he clawed past 2014 champion Marin Cilic in the fourth round of the US Open.

Alcaraz outlasted the former World No. 3 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows for the second consecutive year. The match ended at 2:23 a.m., marking the fourth-latest finish in tournament history.

“Honestly, I have no idea,” Alcaraz said of how he won the match. “It was pretty, pretty tough at the beginning of the fifth set [being a] break down. But Marin was playing unbelievable. I believe in myself all the time. Of course the support today in Arthur Ashe [Stadium] was crazy. Without you guys, it wouldn’t be possible to win this match tonight, so thank you very much for the support tonight, thank you.

“I would say 100 per cent of the energy I put in the fifth set was thanks to you. It was unbelievable.”

For a moment, Alcaraz’s tournament hopes and dreams of reaching No. 1 on 12 September were slipping away. Cilic caught fire from the baseline and powered his way back into the match to force a decider and lead by a break early in the fifth set. But Alcaraz showed his competitive spirit and immediately struck back before surging to the finish after three hours and 53 minutes.

“After a fourth set [when] I had a lot of opportunities… it was tough for me to come back in the fifth set, to stay strong mentally,” Alcaraz said. “But as I said, the energy that I received today made me win.”

With Daniil Medvedev and Rafael Nadal losing over the past two days, the stakes have been raised for Alcaraz in New York. Not only is the teen pursuing his maiden Grand Slam title — he is also trying to ascend to the pinnacle of men’s tennis.

If the Spaniard reaches the final and Casper Ruud does not, Alcaraz will climb to World No. 1 on the Monday after the US Open. If Ruud makes the final and Alcaraz does not, the Norwegian will ascend to the top spot. If both men make the championship match, the winner will depart with the trophy and World No. 1. Alcaraz is up to No. 2 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

Alcaraz was focussed on the player in front of him in the fourth round, Cilic, and he needed to be. The Spaniard withstood a barrage of booming groundstrokes from the Croatian in the early hours of the morning and found some of his best tennis when it mattered most. Alcaraz dropped to his knees to celebrate his victory and both players shared special moments with the remaining crowd inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, thanking the fans on their way off the court.

Early in the fourth set, the dynamics of the match changed when Alcaraz began to return Cilic’s serve from near the back wall, allowing the 33-year-old to take the first big strike in rallies. Alcaraz was left scrambling to avoid playing defence against his aggressive opponent.

When the 19-year-old missed a forehand to go down a break in the fifth set, Cilic appeared in control. The Croatian has plenty of experience in difficult moments and was the only Grand Slam champion remaining in the draw.

But Alcaraz’s resolve never waned. The third seed continued battling and that paid dividends when he found an incredible angle to get back on serve. He never looked back from there, finding a way through the clash in which he struck 28 winners and converted six of his 18 break points.

Next up for the Spaniard will be 11th seed Jannik Sinner, another former Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champion. The Italian also needed five sets to win his fourth-round match.

“I played a couple of times against him. He’s a great player, a really, really tough one,” said Alcaraz, who trails their ATP Head2Head series 1-2. “I lost twice in the past two months, so I will have to be ready for this battle against Jannik.”

Did You Know?
The 19-year-old Alcaraz is the youngest man to make the last eight at the US Open in consecutive years since Lew Hoad and Ken Rosewall in 1952-53, when the event was called the US Championships.

Jannik Sinner advanced to the US Open quarter-finals Monday night but will be looking to retool his game before continuing his quest for a maiden Grand Slam title.

The 21-year-old Italian had a difficult night on serve in a rollercoaster five-set win over Ilya Ivashka, throwing in 14 double faults and putting just 46 per cent of first serves into play. Seven double faults alone in the second set (among 22 unforced errors) unexpectedly cost Sinner the set when he appeared to be cruising to a routine victory leading by a set and 4-2.

Ultimately the former Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champion had to rally from 1-3 in the fifth set to close out the win 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 and become the youngest player since Novak Djokovic (20, in 2007-08) to complete a set of quarter-final appearances at all four Grand Slams.

But if Sinner is to reach his first major semi-final, he will need to sharpen his game ahead of a meeting with third seed Carlos Alcaraz or 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic.

“Today I was struggling, I was not playing my best,” Sinner said. “But in the fifth set I tried to dig deep and I’m very happy to be in the next round.”

Monday night’s stumble was a puzzling performance by the six-time Tour titlist, who in his first three matches served 44 aces to just 13 double faults.

Sinner is 14th in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Turin, and like countryman Matteo Berrettini (13th), is in need of a big run at Flushing Meadows to work into contention to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, where last year he played two matches in front of home fans as an alternate. Sinner and Berrettini are the highest-positioned players outside the current Turin cut who are still alive in the tournament.

It is the first time in tournament history (since 1881) that two Italian men have reached the quarter-finals in the same year. Sinner and Berrettini also reached the Australian Open quarter-finals together in January.

Sinner dominated Ivashka early, converting all three break points in the first set and absorbing Ivashka’s pace with rock-solid defence as he claimed five of Ivashka’s first six service games. Ivashka’s forehand power troubled Sinner as the match progressed, and coupled with 55 unforced errors from the Italian, almost proved the undoing of the 11th seed.

Casper Ruud takes on Matteo Berrettini as the US Open quarter-final action kicks off on Tuesday in New York, where the Norwegian seeks to maintain his challenge for the No. 1 spot in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

Nick Kyrgios and Karen Khachanov also meet in the last eight at the hard-court Grand Slam. The Australian is looking to back up his stunning fourth-round triumph against 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev.

ATPTour.com previews the quarter-final action on Day 9 at Flushing Meadows.

View Schedule | View Singles Draw | View Doubles Draw

[5] Casper Ruud (NOR) vs. [13] Matteo Berrettini (ITA)

Fifth seed Ruud is exploring new territory in New York, and in more ways than one.

The Norwegian has advanced to the US Open quarter-finals for the first time with a series of battling performances this fortnight, while the fifth seed also knows that victory against 13th seed Berrettini on Tuesday will lift him two spots to No. 2 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

The 23-year-old could become the new World No. 1 if he reaches the championship match at Flushing Meadows, but he is wary of the threat posed by Berrettini. Ruud edged the Italian in three sets in Gstaad in July to lift his ninth tour-level title and believes that his ability to counter Berrettini’s huge serve will be key to his chances of a repeat success in Tuesday’s quarter-final.

”When we played in Gstaad it was really fast conditions even though it was on clay, and it was bouncing a lot,” said Ruud, who leads Berrettini 3-2 in the pair’s ATP Head2Head series. “So most of the times I stayed in and tried this strategy, which didn’t work for all the match, but in the end I was able to win some key moments on it.

“Let’s see. You need to obviously guess right sometimes, and sort of see if you can try to read where he’s going.”

Ruud’s previous-best showing in New York, a third-round appearance in 2020, was ended by Berrettini in straight sets. The Italian demonstrated he can also tough things out if required in his fourth-round victory against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Sunday, when he prevailed in five sets after three hours, 45 minutes.

That win improved the 2019 semi-finalist’s record at the US Open to 16-4, and he spoke afterwards about the importance of staying on the front foot against Ruud as he seeks to avenge the loss in Gstaad.

“I think the key is to be aggressive before him,” said Berrettini. “I’m going to try to make him run and not gonna run too much. The key I think is to be aggressive, to use my weapons, my serve, obviously my forehand.”

The match is also significant for both players’ hopes of qualifying for November’s Nitto ATP Finals. Ruud currently sits in fourth place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, while Berrettini is in 13th.

[23] Nick Kyrgios (AUS) vs. [27] Karen Khachanov

Kyrgios and Khachanov’s sole previous Grand Slam meeting was a memorable one. The Australian needed four hours and 26 minutes to overcome Khachanov in a remarkable 6-2, 7-6(5), 6-7(6), 6-7(7), 7-6(8) victory at the 2020 Australian Open.

Despite producing what he later described as ‘probably the most boneheaded play of all time’ against Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round in New York on Sunday, Kyrgios delievered an otherwise sparkling performance on Arthur Ashe Stadium to down the World No. 1 and set a second meeting at the majors with 27th seed Khachanov.

Kyrgios has found his best level on Tour in recent months, posting 19-3 on the North American hard courts following his run to a maiden Grand Slam final at Wimbledon in July. The Australian says he is feeding off his strong run of results as he chases his first major title in New York.

“Obviously winning helps. I’ve been winning a lot this year,” said Kyrgios after his Medvedev win. “The motivation has been there. It’s easy to train. It’s easier to wake up obviously when things are going great. I was just really sick of letting people down. I don’t know, just feeling like that. I feel like I’m making people proud now.”

Like Kyrgios, the World No. 31 Khachanov has advanced to the quarter-finals in New York for the first time. The 26-year-old outlasted Pablo Carreno Busta in a fourth-round epic on Sunday and is hopeful that he has turned a corner at Flushing Meadows, where he held a 5-6 tournament record before this year’s tournament.

“To be honest, I had in 2018 a really great match against Rafa (a 2018 third-round clash) and good memories,” said Khachanov. “But then after that, not so good performances in New York, so I was a little bit nervous this year because I wanted to do well, and I feel like I’m playing good tennis.”

Frances Tiafoe earned the biggest victory of his career on Monday against Rafael Nadal at the US Open. The thrilling moment became even more surreal when he returned to the locker room.

The American learned that NBA legend LeBron James had tweeted about his big win. That was huge considering Tiafoe has used James’ ‘Silencer’ celebration in the past.

“CONGRATS Young King!!! You earned it! @FTiafoe,” James tweeted, before following up with another tweet. “KEEP GOING!!!!! #StriveForGreatness”

CONGRATS Young King!!! You earned it! @FTiafoe 🙏🏾✊🏾🤎👑 https://t.co/QQ0Jn7Lotp

— LeBron James (@KingJames) September 5, 2022

“Man, I was losing it in the locker room. Bro, I was going crazy,” Tiafoe said, cracking a smile. “That’s my guy. So to see him post that, I was like, ‘Do I retweet it as soon as he sent it?’ I was like, ‘You know what, I’m going to be cool and act like I didn’t see it and then retweet it three hours later.’

“Obviously he knows I’m a big fan of his. Got a text from Rich Paul as well. That’s super cool. The fact they’re watching right now. It’s a perfect time. US Open is always a perfect time because there’s no real sports really going on. People can focus on tennis, which is great.”

That was not the only basketball player who tuned into Tiafoe’s victory. Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal was in the American’s player box. Cameras caught Beal getting fired up for the home favourite throughout the match. Tiafoe, who is from the Washington area, is a big Wizards fan.

“Obviously saw Bradley Beal in there. His first tennis match, that was super cool, talking to him after,” Tiafoe said. “He wants to come again. It was cool. Special day for me.”

.@RealDealBeal23 is loving every minute of this match.@FTiafoe | @WashWizards | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/bp32cWxsge

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 5, 2022

One of the best players in the NBA, Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers, also tweeted about Tiafoe’s match. “FRANCES TIAFOE!!!!!” he wrote. Before the tournament, Tiafoe practised in an Embiid jersey.

FRANCES TIAFOE!!!!!

— Joel “Troel” Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) September 5, 2022

As exciting as seeing all that is for Tiafoe, the best moment came on the court. He had never previously defeated a member of the ‘Big Three’: Nadal, Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic. His reward for doing so is a maiden trip to the US Open quarter-finals and a deafening reception from the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd.

“I was telling my agent, I felt like the world stopped. I couldn’t hear anything for a minute. Even shaking his hand, I don’t even know what I said to him. It was such a blur,” Tiafoe said. “I was already tearing. I could barely see him and my team. Everyone was up. It was just wild. My heart is going a thousand miles an hour. I was so excited. I was like, ‘Let me sit down’.

“I’ve never felt something like that in my life, honestly.”

Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski moved to within three wins of capturing their first Grand Slam title and seventh tour-level crown of the season together Monday, edging Australians Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-3 at the US Open.

The second seeds, who became the first team to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals last week, raised their level in the key moments throughout their two-hour, 29-minute third-round win against the Wimbledon champions, breaking twice to advance.

The Dutch-British tandem will play Marcelo Demoliner and Joao Sousa in the quarter-finals after the Brazilian-Portuguese team downed Italians Lorenzo Sonego and Andrea Vavassori 7-6(4), 6-4.

With the pressure on, Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara stepped up and delivered, clawing past Australian Open champions Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(10-7) in two hours and 10 minutes.

The eighth seeds looked on the verge of victory when Kyrgios stepped up to serve at 8/7 in the Match Tie-break. However, the Australians were unable to cross the finish line, with Glasspool and Heliovaara hitting backhand return winners to turn the match in their favour. The British-Finn team, who won their second tour-level title together in Hamburg in July, will face Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in the last eight.

The 2019 champions struck six aces as they rallied to defeat fourth seeds Tim Puetz and Michael Venus 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-3 in two hours and 36 minutes.

Rafael Nadal suffered a tough fourth-round exit at the US Open on Monday against American Frances Tiafoe. The 22-time major champion was clear that there are no excuses. Tiafoe was simply the better player on the day.

“We can make lamentations or we can complain now about a lot of things, but I don’t think that [is] going to change any situation,” Nadal said. “We can think, if I [didn’t] get injured, maybe I win Wimbledon. Maybe I win [other] things [in] the past. Or maybe I lost [other] things because I was not able to create this interior power after all that injuries.

“That’s part of my career. A lot of times went the proper way; sometimes completely unexpected like Australia, like Roland Garros.
Of course, this was not the ideal preparation for me. But in other cases went the right way, even with not the perfect preparation. We can’t find excuses. We need to be enough critical with myself. That’s the only way to improve or that’s the only way that I understand you are able to find solutions.”

Tiafoe played a clean, aggressive match in which he took the action to Nadal. The American hit 49 winners compared to just 28 unforced errors to reach his first quarter-final at Flushing Meadows. Nadal was unable to find a solution inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“The difference is easy: I played a bad match and he played a good match. At the end that’s it,” Nadal said. “I was not able to hold a high level of tennis for a long time. I was not enough quick on my movements. He was able to take the ball too many times very early, so I was not able to push him back.

“Tennis is a sport of position a lot of times. If not, you need to be very, very quick and very young. I am not in that moment anymore.
My shots needed to be better. In some way my understanding of the game and the quality of my shots were not good enough, were poor, I think I have to say today, because I was not able to create that much [against] him.”

In the second round, Nadal fell behind a set and 2-4 against Fabio Fognini. The Italian had defeated the lefty in New York before, but the four-time champion found a way through. Nadal was adamant he was playing better in practice than he had through two matches, which came to fruition in the third round against former World No. 7 Richard Gasquet.

It was not enough against Tiafoe, who earned his first win against Nadal.

“I have been practising well the week before, honestly. But then when the competition started, my level went down. That’s the truth. For some reason, I don’t know, mental issues in terms of a lot of things happened the last couple of months,” Nadal said. “But [that] doesn’t matter. At the end the only thing that happened is we went to the fourth round of the US Open and I faced a player that was better than me. And that’s why I am having a plane back home.”

Nadal explained that Tiafoe is playing “more solid than before” and that the American served well. The Spaniard added he did not do enough to “create doubts” in the home favorite’s mind.

“All the credit to him, without a doubt. That’s the truth. He did a lot of things well. But at the end when you finish a match, of course it’s important to recognise all the good things that the opponent is doing or the opponent did. Yes, without a doubt,” Nadal said. “But at the end of the day I need to analyse myself more than the opponent. I finished the match 15 minutes ago. Difficult for me to analyse yet.”

It was still an impressive Grand Slam season for Nadal, who won the Australian Open and Roland Garros for the first time. The lefty made the semi-finals at Wimbledon before withdrawing due to injury.

With top seed Daniil Medvedev upset by Nick Kyrgios on Sunday, Nadal had another opportunity in New York. But as the Spaniard said, he was unable to convert his opportunities.

“I had my chances. I had that break, then I had again a 15/40. I had a Love-30 in the first set, second serve, I missed the return.
There have been a lot of moments that, if you are able to be ready to catch that point, [the] situation can change,” Nadal said. “[That] can make a big difference. That’s all about confidence. It’s all about [playing] better because at the end this sport, it’s about [when you are given] the opportunities, [taking] the opportunities, and trying to save when the opponent is doing well.

“I was not able to do anything, any of these things this afternoon. So he was able to do it. He played with the right determination. Congrats to him. Wish him all the very best.”