The year’s last grand slam is turning out to be a test for tennis’s next generation, with 23-year-old Casper Ruud reaching the semi-final and teen Carlos Alcaraz setting up a quarter final clash with fellow member of the youth brigade Jannik Sinner.
Fifth seed Ruud of Norway overcame a late challenge by 13th seed Italian Matteo Berrettini 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) on Tuesday to enter the semi-finals. Spanish Alcaraz, just 19-year-old, defeated 2014 champion Marin Cilic 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in one of the latest ever finishes at the US Open on Monday to set up a quarter final clash against 21-year-old Jannik Sinner.
After battling for three hours and 53 minutes at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, where the roof was closed due to rain, Alcaraz dropped to his knees in jubilation after sealing the contest on his first match point when Cilic’s return hit the net. The sizeable crowd on the main showcourt at Flushing Meadows gave the players a standing ovation with the clock striking 2.23 am (local time), minutes shy of the latest finish at the hard court grand slam in New York.
“Honestly, I have no idea,” Alcaraz said on court when asked how he managed to clinch victory. “It was pretty, pretty tough at the beginning of the fifth set (being a) break down. Marin was playing unbelievable. But I believed in myself all the time.” Alcaraz’s victory over the 15th-seeded Cilic ensured there will be a new men’s grand slam champion on Sunday and also kept the Spaniard in contention to become the youngest world No.1 when the ATP rankings are updated after the final.
The third seed will next meet 21-year-old Italian Sinner, seeded 11th, for a maiden grand slam semi-final spot. Sinner also emerged victorious from a marathon contest against Ilya Ivashka winning 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 after three hours and 47 minutes. Russian Andrey Rublev downed British seventh seed Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to move into the quarter finals. The ninth-seed Russian will meet Frances Tiafoe.
Iga survives
Iga Swiatek was given a mighty scare by little-known Jule Niemeier before the Polish top seed finally handed the 108th-ranked German a 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 reality check in the fourth round. She handed Niemeier a break in the third game of the second set with a clumsy mistake at the net.
Sitting on her bench with her towel over her head during the changeover, she loudly smacked her thigh in anger before returning to the court with new resolve. “I’m just proud that I didn’t lose hope,” she said in an oncourt interview. “I had a hard time pushing her back.” It is the first time she has reached the quarter finals at Flushing Meadows. She next faces in-form American Jessica Pegula.
Pegula became the second American woman to reach the last eight after brushing aside twice Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-2. Her compatriot Danielle Collins fell 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to sixth seed Aryna Sabalenka. Karolina Pliskova beat Victoria Azarenka 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2 in a three-hour match between two former world No.1s.