Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz easily qualified for the quarter-finals of the US Open on Monday, but Alexander Zverev, after an epic match, deprived Jannik Sinner of a rematch against the Spaniard of their epic duel of 2022. Alcaraz, in search of a third Grand Slam title, clearly dominated the Italian Matteo Arnaldi (61st) 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.
“I’m happy with the intensity I put in from the first to the last point, especially going up to the net a lot,” commented the 20-year-old Spaniard. World N.1, he already knows that he will return this place to Novak Djokovic at the end of the tournament whatever the results are now.
“The longest match of my career at the US Open”
The only possible sign of concern, he played with a huge bandage on his left thigh. But in fact, the Spaniard did not seem to really suffer. “I felt a little pain in my left leg, but nothing serious. The bandage is a precaution,” he said.
In the night, he had to rub his hands seeing, or learning, the difficulty of his next opponent to qualify. Because Zverev (12th) took 4:41 to dismiss 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 a Sinner (6th) yet handicapped by thigh pain from the second set.
“It’s the longest game of my career at the US Open… It’s what I live for, it’s what I love. Last year, when I couldn’t play, that’s exactly what I missed: finishing in the middle of the night, such a long and difficult match, in front of the public at the Arthur-Ashe court,” said the 26-year-old German.
He had missed the 2022 tournament due to a serious right ankle injury that occurred in the semi-finals at Roland-Garros against Rafael Nadal. “In the fourth set, I thought I was finished, but I regained energy thanks to the public,” he confessed. There will therefore be no rematch of the memorable 2022 quarter-final, which saw Sinner lose in five sets to Alcaraz.
Will Zverev have recovered from this grueling duel against the Italian when it comes time to face one of the most physical players in history? “I’m here to play. I don’t know how it will end, but I will do my best,” he promised.
Big intensity
For his part, Andrey Rublev (8th) had a few tantrums before qualifying for his fourth quarter-final of the US Open by dismissing the Briton Jack Draper (123rd) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 , 6-4. He will find for a place in the semi-finals his compatriot Daniil Medvedev (3rd), winner in 2021, who dismissed the Australian Alex De Minaur (13th) 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2.
In the women’s draw, the day was marked by the elimination of the Tunisian Ons Jabeur (6th), finalist last year, by the Chinese Qinwen Zheng (23rd) 6-2, 6-4. Sick since the start of the tournament, the 29-year-old Tunisian had suffered to pass the first three rounds, but this time she really lacked strength against an opponent who was too solid.
The Chinese (20) will play her first Grand Slam quarter-final, against Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (2nd). The latter, already guaranteed to become world N.1 at the end of the tournament, easily eliminated the Russian Daria Kasatkina (14th) 6-1, 6-3.
The duel of Americans was won by Madison Keys (17th), finalist in 2017, at the expense of Jessica Pegula (3rd). Keys, who had not passed the round of 16 at Flushing Meadows since his half in 2018, dismissed Pegula 6-1, 6-3 in 1:01 and will face the Czech Marketa Vondrousova (9th) for a place in the last four.
“A friend”
“It’s always hard to play against a friend, but we’ve done it all our lives. When we get on the court, it’s all about work, but then we become friends again,” explained Keys (28 years). For her part, Vondrousova, surprise winner of Wimbledon in July but who had never passed the eighth at the US Open (reached in 2018) overthrew the American Peyton Stearns (59th) 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 6-2.
“She is very powerful and it was a very difficult match”, commented Vondrousova who, at 24, did not expect to reach the quarterfinals in New York because “after Wimbledon the pressure was immense”. She has since added a tattoo to her already well-decorated right arm: 150723, the date of the final won on the London turf.