Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz reacts after securing his place in the quarterfinals of the US Open with a straight sets victory over Matteo Arnaldi (Ed JONES).
Carlos Alcaraz stormed into the quarterfinals of the US Open on Monday, while the women’s draw was dominated by upsets: Ons Jabeur and Jessica Pegula were the latest top-ranked players to exit.
Defending champion Alcaraz, who has dropped just one set on his way to the last eight, put in a dominant performance to overpower Italian world number 61 Matteo Arnaldi by winning 6-3, 6 in 1 hour and 57 minutes :3, 6:4 won.
Alcaraz, 20, is aiming to become the first man since Roger Federer in 2008 to successfully defend the US Open after winning the title for the first time last year.
The identity of the Spaniard’s quarter-final opponent will be confirmed later on Monday, with Alcaraz set to face either Germany’s Alexander Zverev or Italian number six seed Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
A match with Sinner would be a repeat of last year’s quarterfinal classic between the two men, which set a record by finishing last in a US Open match at 2:50 a.m.
“I think the intensity from the start to the last ball made me play a really solid game, fewer mistakes,” Alcaraz said after Monday’s comfortable win.
“I am generally very satisfied with the performance.”
In other men’s matches on Monday, eighth-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev prevailed with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Britain’s Jack Draper.
Rublev will face the winner of the later game on Monday between third-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 champion, and No. 13 seed Australian Alex de Minaur.
– Pegula sunk by friendly fire –
Meanwhile, there were more seeds in the women’s draw, a day after world number one and defending champion Iga Swiatek was sent off in the fourth round.
Third seed American Jessica Pegula was defeated in straight sets by her compatriot and close friend Madison Keys, while fifth seed Tunisian Jabeur, beaten in the final last year, was defeated by China’s Zheng Qinwen 6-2, 6-4.
Pegula had gone into the US Open with the dream of her first Grand Slam, buoyed by victory at the WTA 1000 Canadian Open last month.
But the 29-year-old’s season ended abruptly in front of a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium as Keys, a finalist at the 2017 US Open, recorded a commanding 6-1, 6-3 victory in just 61 minutes.
Pegula had no answer as Keys unleashed a torrent of 21 winners to her six.
Keys also punished her friend’s shaky serve, breaking it five times en route to a comfortable victory.
“It’s always hard having to play a friend, but we’ve been doing it our whole lives,” said Keys, 28.
“When we get on the court it’s all business, and when we leave the court we become friends again.”
The Keys, seeded 17th, will now face Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova from the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
The ninth-seeded Vondrousova secured her place in the last eight with a fighting victory over unseeded American Peyton Stearns, winning from a set down 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 6-2.
Vondrousova made history in July when she became the first unseeded woman to win Wimbledon, her first Grand Slam title.
The 24-year-old has never made it past the fourth round at the US Open and admitted after her win on Monday that she surprised herself by reaching the last eight.
“I am very happy,” said Vondrousova. “After Wimby I wasn’t really expecting it – it was a lot of pressure. We’ll see what happens next.”
Jabeur, however, who has been battling flu since arriving in New York, finally saw her luck run out after narrowly managing to win three sets in her last two matches.
The Tunisian simply had no answer to the 23rd seed Zheng’s mix of power and precision, with the 20-year-old from Shiyan looking much sharper than her tired opponent.
“Right now I’m just super happy and excited to play in a big stadium. I performed really well today,” said Zheng.
Zheng is China’s first US Open quarterfinalist since Wang Qiang in 2019. Two-time major champion Li Na reached the semifinals in New York in 2013 and Peng Shuai did the same a year later.
Zheng will face either second seed Aryna Sabalenka – who is set to become the new number one in the women’s world championship after Swiatek’s exit on Sunday – or Russian Daria Kasatkina in the quarterfinals. Sabalenka and Kasatkina will play a night game later on Monday.
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