The straightforward scoreline at the end of Carlos Alcaraz’s third-round win over Wu Yibing did not quite reflect the Spaniard’s slight irritation with one aspect of his game. Alcaraz felt he had missed a few too many forehands, and almost immediately after departing Arthur Ashe Stadium, he reappeared on the practice court pounding forehands in the afternoon heat.
Two days later, the extra care Alcaraz put into his game was reflected in a statement performance driven by his peerless forehand as he rose to the occasion in the biggest challenge of his comeback so far, dismantling the 20th seed Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 to continue his title defence by returning to the quarter-finals of the US Open.
Coming into the fourth round, things had progressed about as well as Alcaraz could have hoped. He had been efficient, clean and, most of all, he was striking the ball with total freedom after months of being unable to even use his wrist. The level the 23-year-old displayed on Sunday and the ease with which he dispatched such a high-quality opponent in Paul, however, took him to another level in his comeback.
Afterwards, Paul spoke candidly about how vast the gap felt between himself and the seven-time grand slam champion. “It sucks, you know?” he said. “It felt like he’s playing at a completely different level than me, which is, like I said in the beginning, I could have played a lot better and still lost that match.
“I was talking to my team right after the match. It sucks, because you feel like, ‘shit, it’s tough to win these matches against him.’ But at the same time, you learn a lot every time you play him.”
There was plenty of doubt surrounding Alcaraz’s readiness to compete for the title considering he was returning at a major event in the best-of-five-sets format after a four-and-a-half-month layoff due to his wrist injury.
His level serves as a message to the rest of the field that will not go unheard, one that he also shared in his on-court interview: “Except one year since 2021, I made at least the quarter-finals here,” Alcaraz said. “That means how special this place is to me, how good I’m playing every time I come here. I’m just trying to enjoy my time on the court.
“So it probably doesn’t matter that I was out for four months and a half. Every time that I come here, I play my best.”
Despite how well things had progressed, Alcaraz has had some creases to iron out in his game after so much time away.
He started the tournament struggling with his serve, which was slower, inconsistent and imprecise. His serve has improved with each round in speed and precision.
Considering the standards he has set for so much of his young career, it is hard to imagine that rate of improvement will not continue as the tournament endures.
“Carlos is different, I guess,” said Paul. “It’s impressive to take time off like that and come back and feel, play as good as he has. I wouldn’t be able to do it, for sure.”
Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka’s title defence at the US Open continued to gather steam as she returned to the quarter-finals with a solid performance and an assured victory, defeating Taylor Townsend of the United States 6-4, 6-3.
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This was a challenging match despite the routine scoreline, with Sabalenka initially failing to serve out the first set, trailing 1-3 in set two and dropping serve four times.
However, she handled the decisive moments well, rolling through the final five games of the match to advance.
“I love matches like that, because it was really challenging, and going through tough challenges and overcoming those challenges, it definitely gives you strength and really strong belief that you can do it,” said Sabalenka. “So these kind of matches is really like a boost of confidence.”
A far greater challenge awaits Sabalenka in the quarter-final as she faces the Wimbledon champion and sixth seed Linda Noskova, who appears to be finding her feet again as she continues to digest her life-changing triumph in July.
Noskova held her nerve at the end of one of the most spectacular contests of the tournament, recovering after squandering double match point at 5-4 in set two before clinching her sixth match point to close out against the 11th seed, Marta Kostyuk, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4.
