Carlos Alcaraz made it to the quarter-finals of the US Open on Monday because of the upsets that prevailed in the women’s draw where Ons Jabeur and Jessica Pegula became the latest players to crash.
Defending champion Alcaraz, who dropped just one set on his way to the last eight, produced a dominant performance to overcome Italian No.61 Matteo Arnaldi, winning 6-3, 6-3, 6 -4 in 1 hour 57min.
Alcaraz will face 12th seed Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals on Wednesday after the 2020 US Open finalist from Germany defeated Italian sixth seed Jannik Sinner in a five-set duel that was marred by controversy.
Zverev, who returned to his best form after a serious injury at last year’s French Open that forced a six-month layoff, defeated Sinner 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6- 3 at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The 4 hour 41 minute match, which ended at 1:39 local time, saw an ugly incident in the fourth set when Zverev complained of a “Hitler phrase” being shouted from the crowd. stand as he prepares to serve.
“He just said the most famous Hitler phrase in the world,” Zverev told the umpire. “It’s unbelievable.”
A male fan was singled out as the culprit and ejected from the arena before Zverev went on to seal the win.
“I like when the fans are loud, I like when the fans are emotional but I think that I’m German, and I’m not really proud of that history, it’s not really a good thing to do,” Zverev said about of the incident afterwards.
“If I just don’t react I think it’s not good on my side.”
In other men’s matches on Monday, eighth-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev advanced with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Britain’s Jack Draper.
Rublev will now compete in the all-Russian quarter-final against close friend Daniil Medvedev, the third-seeded 2021 US Open champion who punched his ticket to the last eight by 2-6, 6-4, 6 -1, 6-2 loss to Australian 13th seed Alex de Minaur.
Rublev, who has known Medvedev since childhood, is godfather to his quarter-final opponent’s daughter.
– Pegula sunk by friendly fire –
Meanwhile in the women’s draw, more seeds bit the dust a day after world number one and defending champion Iga Swiatek was sent to the fourth round.
American third seed Jessica Pegula lost in straight sets to compatriot and friend Madison Keys, while Tunisia’s fifth seed Jabeur — who lost in the finals last year — was ousted by China’s Zheng Qinwen, 6- 2, 6-4.
Pegula’s campaign came to an abrupt halt in front of a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium as 2017 US Open finalist Keys recorded a dominant 6-1, 6-3 victory in just 61 minutes.
Pegula had no answer as Keys unleashed a stream of 21 winners in her six.
Keys also punished her friend’s shaky serve, breaking her five times on her way to a comfortable victory.
“It’s always hard to play with a friend but we’ve been doing it our whole lives at this point,” Keys, 28, said.
The 17th-seeded Keys will now face Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Ninth seed Vondrousova booked her place in the last eight with a competitive victory over unseeded American Peyton Stearns, coming from a set down to win 6-7 (3/7), 6-3 , 6-2.
Meanwhile Jabeur, who has been battling the flu since arriving in New York, finally saw his luck run out after clawing his way to three-set wins in the last two matches.
The Tunisian simply had no answer to 23rd seed Zheng’s combination of power and precision, with the 20-year-old from Shiyan looking sharper than his tired opponent.
“Right now I feel very happy and excited to play in a big stadium. My performance today was really good,” Zheng said.
Zheng is China’s first US Open quarter-finalist since Wang Qiang in 2019. Two-time major champion Li Na reached the semi-finals in New York in 2013 and Peng Shuai did the same one round later. years.
Zheng’s quarter-final assignment is a daunting date with second seed Aryna Sabalenka, who celebrated her ascension to the top of women’s tennis by routing Russia’s Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-3 to secure her last eight places.
Swiatek’s exit on Sunday guarantees that the 25-year-old Belarusian will be the new world number one when the latest world rankings are released next week.
“It means a lot to me,” Sabalenka said of her No.1 ranking after defeating Kasatkina.
“I pushed myself all year to reach this goal. It’s unbelievable, it’s something crazy, I still can’t believe it.”
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