Clinical Carlos Alcaraz moved a step closer to making more tennis history after cruising into the US Open quarter-finals.
The Spaniard, still showing no signs of the wrist injury which sidelined him for more than four months before the tournament, dismantled American Tommy Paul in straight sets.
Alcaraz is already the youngest man to complete career grand slam and should he go on to win back-to-back Flushing Meadows crowns he would become the only man in the open era to successfully defend major titles on all three surfaces.
Having won on the grass of Wimbledon in 2023 and 2024 and on the French Open clay in 2024 and last year, the 23-year-old can complete the set on hard courts if he triumphs next Sunday.
Undeniable.
Carlos Alcaraz dispatches Paul 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals! pic.twitter.com/9BycpgCDQZ
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 6, 2026
Paul, the 20th seed, had talked up his chances before the match, saying “I like to think of myself as somebody who always thinks I can beat those (top) players”.
But a 6-4 6-3 6-4 defeat means Alcaraz has now beaten the 29-year-old six times in a row, winning the last 14 sets they have contested.
He actually faced two set points at the end of the third, but swatted them away with two contemptuous forehand winners on his way to victory in two hours and 21 minutes.
“I played my game, tried to play my style,” he said. “Tommy is such a talented player, his shots are dangerous so I tried to be ready for the battle, to be ready to run and be aggressive.
“I think I did it pretty well. Really happy with the performance today. Am I back to full power? I mean I think so.”
Alcaraz will face Ben Shelton, who beat Stefanos Tsitsipas, in what will be the first genuine blockbuster match in the men’s draw.
The American eighth seed’s 140mph-plus serves will provide the sternest test yet for Alcaraz’s wrist.
Alcaraz has a better grasp of a tennis racket than he does of how to read the draw, as he initially thought he was playing the winner of Frances Tiafoe’s match with Daniil Medvedev.
After being pointed in the right direction, he said: “Shelton’s a really powerful player. I think he’ll use the crowd, get the people behind him, especially when he’s playing here at home.”
Tiafoe beat 2021 champion Medvedev to ensure at least one American will reach the semis as he will face Alex Michelsen, who downed Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry to reach his first grand slam quarter-final.
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