Carlos Alcaraz scored his seventeenth Grand Slam win to arrange a fourth-round conflict vs. Tommy Paul.
Richard PagliaroSeptember 4, 20263 minute learn
By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, September 4, 2026
Photograph credit score: Antoine Couvercelle/ROLEX
NEW YORK—Dancing balls floated in entrance of Carlos Alcaraz’s face.
Alcaraz confronted the flurry with quick fingers and smiling depth.
Juggling a trio of tennis balls in his pre-match warm-up, Alcaraz conjured a convincing win on Arthur Ashe Stadium at present.
The reigning US Open champion broke serve seven occasions in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 sweep of world No. 113 Wu Yibing to energy into the US Open fourth spherical for the fifth time in six Flushing Meadows appearances.
It’s Alcaraz’s seventeenth consecutive Grand Slam victory, together with his tenth in a row in New York Metropolis the place he out-dueled archrival Jannik Sinner within the 2025 closing final September.
Alcaraz, who was sidelined from the game since April nursing a proper wrist damage, is quickly making up for misplaced time in his return. Taking part in his first match since April 14th in Barcelona, Alcaraz repelled Roman Safiullin 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in his US Open opener on Monday.
At this time, Alcaraz struck with conviction and referred to as his degree “actually excessive,” which exceeded his pre-tournament expectations.
“To be trustworthy, I’m higher than I believed,” Alcaraz advised ESPN’s Mary Joe Fernandez afterward. “Bodily I believed I used to be going to be unhealthy. After the primary match, I’m recovering very well.
“I’m doing nice issues off the court docket to be in state. I feel my degree is nice. Everytime I step on the court docket I give all of it. I simply attempt to enhance and be higher each match. Hopefully within the subsequent spherical I’ll be a only a bit higher.
“However I feel proper now my degree is basically excessive. I feel a few errors I did at present that hopefully not going to make it subsequent spherical.”
The fourth spherical shapes up as a blockbuster between Alcaraz and well-liked American Tommy Paul.
Taking part in on Louis Armstrong Stadium, Paul confirmed his stamina and ending abilities rallying previous Fifteenth-seeded Alexander Bublik, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-3.
The Twentieth-seeded Paul transformed six of eight break factors and withstood 16 aces from the big-serving Bublik in a 3 hour, 13-minute triumph.
The 23-year-old Spaniard is 6-2 lifetime vs. Paul, together with a 7-6(6), 6-4, 7-5 triumph within the Australian Open fourth spherical in January which got here practically seven months after Alcaraz permitted simply 5 video games pounding Paul within the 2025 Roland Garros quarterfinals.
“Clearly he’s gonna play at residence, it’s gonna be a bonus for him,” Alcaraz mentioned. “Hopefully, he’s gonna be drained a bit of bit from at present’s match.
“I’ll attempt to return higher and as I mentioned I missed a few forehands. I’m not pleased about it. Hopefully subsequent spherical I’m gonna be higher than ever.”
Defending champion Alcaraz, bidding to turn out to be the primary man to efficiently defend the US Open since one in all his tennis heroes, Roger Federer, captured 5 straight Flushing Meadows championships from 2004-2008,
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