Top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz of Spain cruised into the fourth round of the U.S. Open in New York, recording a 6-2, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win over No. 26 Daniel Evans, one of three Brits in action early on Saturday.
Alcaraz, the defending U.S. Open champion, overcame eight aces by Evans with 61 winners against 23 unforced errors. It’s the third straight year that Alcaraz has reached the fourth round at Flushing Meadows.
“He’s a tricky opponent. He always wants to go to the net. Great slices, good touch,” Alcaraz said of Evans. “I think this is my game as well, so we played a pretty good match. I think the people loved that. We made great points, great shots, a lot of different situations probably than in other matches. I’m really happy to get through and play the fourth round again in the U.S. Open.”
Evans’ countrymen Jack Draper and No. 16 seed Cameron Norrie were also in action, though only Draper made it through to the next round.
Draper defeated Michael Mmoh 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 for his first appearance in the fourth round at the Open. Draper laced 13 aces against five double faults, winning 86 percent of his first serves.
Norrie fell in straight sets to Italian rookie Matteo Arnaldi 6-3, 6-4, 6-3. Arnaldi got through in just under two hours after a nearly four-hour match in the previous round and is set to face Alcaraz next. Arnaldi converted 5 of 6 break point chances.
Arnaldi, 22, is in his first career main draw at the U.S. Open and just his third Grand Slam appearance overall.
Eighth-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev also prevailed on Saturday, rallying past France’s Arthur Rinderknech for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, 7-5 victory.
Rinderknech swatted 16 aces to Rublev’s 10, but Rublev won 43 of 54 first-service points en route to the comeback. Rinderknech was also hampered by 45 unforced errors.
No. 12 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany was also forced to dig himself out of an early hole, and he did, ousting Bulgarian 19th seed Grigor Dimitrov 6-7 (2), 7-6 (8), 6-1, 6-1.
Other winners Saturday included No. 6 seed Jannik Sinner of Italy, 13th-seeded Australian Alex de Minaur and Russian third seed Daniil Medvedev. Sinner tackled Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka in four sets, while de Minaur and Medvedev swept No. 23 seed Nicolas Jarry of Chile and Argentina’s Sebastian Baez, respectively.
–Field Level Media
