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Andrey Rublev was pushed once again at the US Open on Monday, but found the answers to see off a spirited challenge from 21-year-old Briton Jack Draper and reach the quarter-finals in New York for the fourth time.

Rublev and Draper went blow for blow throughout their two-hour, 44-minute encounter, before the eighth seed used his big-match experience to pull away and triumph 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

The 25-year-old, who earned four-set victories in his second and third-round matches, struck 44 winners and showed good hands to deal with Draper’s swinging lefty serve, improving to 3-0 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

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Rublev holds an 0-8 record in major quarter-finals, having also advanced to that stage at the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year. He will aim to change that record when he meets Daniil Medvedev or Alex de Minaur.

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz became just the second man in the Open Era (since 1968) to reach three US Open quarter-finals under the age of 21 on Monday when he moved past Italian Matteo Arnaldi.

The 20-year-old Spaniard dazzled the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd with his thrilling shotmaking, consistently drawing gasps to earn a 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 win in one hour and 59 minutes against the 22-year-old, who was competing in the fourth round at a major for the first time.

The top seed holds a 15-1 record at the US Open and joins two-time champion Andre Agassi as the second man to reach the last eight at least three times before turning 21. The American achieved the feat from 1988-1990.

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Alcaraz defeated Casper Ruud to lift his maiden major trophy at the hard-court event last year. Aiming to become the first player since Roger Federer in 2008 to successfully defend his crown, the Spaniard will next face Alexander Zverev or Jannik Sinner, who fell to Alcaraz in a five-set thriller at the same stage last year.

Serbian Hamad Medjedovic added another milestone to his rapid rise Sunday on the ATP Challenger Tour.

The 20-year-old collected his third Challenger title of the season by winning the Rafa Nadal Open by Movistar in Mallorca, where he downed Frenchman Harold Mayot 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in the final.

“The conditions were really tough and Harold was playing really good, especially after the first set. I’ve known him for a very long time, I knew it was going to be a hard match,” Medjedovic said. “I was feeling pressure in every game that we played. It was a really tough match, it was very windy. I’m really happy that I found my game in the end and closed the match.”

Hamad Medjedovic wins the Rafa Nadal Open by Movistar. Credit: Alvaro Diaz

Held at the Rafa Nadal Academy, his Mallorca triumph marks Medjedovic’s fourth Challenger title. His standout season has lifted him to ninth in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Jeddah as he aims for maiden qualification to the Next Gen ATP Finals, which showcases the season’s best 21-and-under players.

Not for the first time this season, Novak Djokovic excelled under the gaze of NFL greatness with his fourth-round victory Sunday at the US Open.

In the stands at Flushing Meadows for the Serbian’s 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 triumph against Borna Gojo was NFL legend Aaron Rodgers. The New York Jets quarterback was following in the footsteps of his former on-field rival Tom Brady, who sat in Djokovic’s player box at Roland Garros in June as the Serbian charged to a record 23rd Grand Slam crown.

“It was a pleasure to have Aaron in the stands tonight for the match,” said Djokovic in his post-match press conference in New York. “I'm hoping he enjoyed himself. Obviously him, Tom Brady being in my box for Roland Garros finals and sitting next to my wife, was a huge honour. I have a relationship with Tom for several years. We go back. I have tremendous respect for him.”

Rodgers and Brady are the latest in a string of high-profile athletes from other sports to have watched or met ATP Tour great Djokovic over the years. His friends from other sports also include Swedish soccer star Zlatan Ibrahimovic and two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic.

“Zlatan is my favorite football player, no doubt,” said Djokovic. “His Balkan mentality is something that is very familiar to me, let's say, even though maybe it looks weird to the rest of the world. I understand him very, very well, have known him the last 15 years.

Coco Gauff revealed in her post-match press conference Sunday at the US Open that the trash talk has begun between men’s quarter-final opponents Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe.

“After my match, Ben and Frances were in the cooldown area, or warmup area, and it was really just cool to see us all there,” Gauff said. “Obviously the conversation, they already started the trash talk. I'm indifferent who wins, but I did say that Frances is a little bit upset because I said Ben had the better outfit than him.”

Gauff, who is also in the quarter-finals, is friends with several American players. She admitted she gave Tiafoe an earful about his kit.

"Frances told me at the French Open that he had something crazy planned for the US Open,” Gauff said. “I was like, ‘You're wearing confetti.’ I said Carlos [Alcaraz] looked better. He's going to hate this. Love you, Frances.” 

According to Shelton, the guys have bantered about their outfits, too.

Taylor Fritz continued the American charge at the US Open Sunday night with his fourth consecutive straight-sets win to reach the quarter-finals at the US Open.

The ninth seed defeated #NextGenATP Swiss Dominic Stricker 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-4 to reach the last eight in New York for the first time. With his win, three American men (also Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe) have made the last eight at the tournament for the first time since 2005.

"I'm really happy. I feel like from the ground I've been playing good tennis all week. Then I feel like in the second and third sets today, [my] serve started coming together. I feel like how I closed out the match, the last two sets, I feel like my serve started feeling the best it's felt," Fritz said. "Just in time, I feel like everything's coming together."

[BREAK POINT]

One year ago, Fritz suffered a heartbreaking first-round exit at Flushing Meadows to then-World No. 303 Brandon Holt, which was documented on hit Netflix docuseries Break Point. Now he will play 23-time major winner Novak Djokovic for a place in the semi-finals after the Serbian defeated Croatian qualifier Borna Gojo.

Novak Djokovic was in no mood for another US Open five-setter Sunday night, snuffing out a spirited challenge from big-hitting Croatian qualifier Borna Gojo 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 to reach his 57th Grand Slam quarter-final.

Two days on from his comeback from two sets down to defeat fellow Serbian Laslo Djere in the third round, Djokovic patiently absorbed an onslaught of baseline body blows from Gojo before advancing to his 13th US Open quarter-final in 17 appearances.

”I knew that Borna had a big game, even though we hadn’t faced each other at the tour level,” Djokovic said. “I was watching him play qualifying and also the last couple of rounds of the main draw and I saw that he has big weapons with his serve and forehand and that he moves pretty well for a big guy. One of the keys to the match was to neutralise his serve, try to reduce the number of aces and winners from that shot.”

Gojo, the strapping 6’ 5” 25-year-old former Wake Forest college player, came out swinging for the fences and had an early break in the second set. But his high-risk approach did not deliver the big returns he sought as he was undone by 40 unforced errors, including 15 in the first set alone.

Nothing better illustrated the volatile nature of Gojo’s match play than the third game of the second set, when the 2018 NCAA singles finalist endeavoured to consolidate his first break of serve at 2-0. Gojo saved his first break point with a bone-crushing down-the-line backhand winner that Djokovic didn’t see coming, but then threw in consecutive double faults (his fourth and fifth of that game alone!) to drop serve.

Alessandro Petrone vividly remembers a rainy day in Sanremo three years ago during the Covid-19 pandemic. Running along the water was a young Matteo Arnaldi.

“He was running on a road along the sea under the rain. I thought, 'Wow, this guy is amazing. He's running under the rain in the COVID times,'” Petrone told ATPTour.com. “I think he really has something special, so that's what gave me the trust in him.”

Petrone has coached Arnaldi since 2021. Now they are enjoying the best week of their partnership, as the 22-year-old is into the fourth round of a major for the first time at the US Open. The Italian will next play top seed and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.

“I think Carlos has reached a very high standard of play. So for sure, he will play amazing, he will be very focussed. Of course it's the second week of the US Open, so it's not the first round. Maybe sometimes some of the top players at the beginning of the tournament can be not distracted, but more relaxed in some way,” Petrone said. “I think the most important [is how] Matteo will play.”

[BREAK POINT]

A semi-finalist at last year’s US Open, Frances Tiafoe is on the charge again in 2023.

The American ended Australian Rinky Hijikata’s run in New York on Sunday when he produced an all-court display to triumph 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 in the fourth round.

Tiafoe demonstrated the magical touch that has helped him to a current career-high No. 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, pulling the World No. 110 from corner to corner. He also recovered from twice squandering a break advantage in the third set to advance to his third major quarter-final after two hours and three minutes.

"He has been quietly going through the draw and I had never played him before. When I broke in the first I really took off," Tiafoe said. "I got a little sloppy at the end but happy to be through and happy to be in the quarter-finals."

The 25-year-old, who was the first American since Andre Agassi (2002-’05) to reach the fourth round in New York for four consecutive years, will meet countryman Ben Shelton on Tuesday.

Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden battled hard to reach the quarter-finals at the US Open on Sunday when they clawed past Britons Julian Cash and Henry Patten 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-6(10-6).

The sixth seeds fired 13 aces and won 81 per cent of their first-serve points (65/80) to seal victory after two hours and 22 minutes. The Indian-Australian team will next face top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski or Americans Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow.

Earlier this season, Bopanna and Ebden won titles on hard courts in Doha and Indian Wells. They are currently fifth in The Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles teams Rankings, aiming to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals.

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Former champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut also advanced, defeating Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 7-6(0), 4-6, 6-4 in two hours and 23 minutes.

Since the beginning of tennis’ open era (1968), only two players have won 14 of their first 15 matches at the US Open: Arthur Ashe and Carlos Alcaraz.

The connection between the legendary American, whose name graces centre court at the season’s final Grand Slam, and the current No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings perfectly reflects the Spaniard’s astonishing form; having won 22 of the 23 matches he has played this year on the biggest stages (Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open), he is riding a huge wave of confidence. Could Alcaraz be the first person to defend his title in New York since Roger Federer did so in 2008?

“Federer was the last one?” said a surprised Alcaraz when he was informed of the stat. “Well, I have to use that as motivation. It really would be incredible to share that achievement with him. We’ll try and do it. It’s a pretty positive incentive for me.”

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The numbers do not lie. Since Federer managed to defend his title, in 2008, nobody that has claimed the crown at the US Open has been able to keep the throne the following year, including Novak Djokovic (2011, 2015, 2018) and Rafael Nadal (2010, 2013, 2017, 2019).

Revenge was sweet for Ben Shelton on Sunday at the US Open where the 20-year-old defeated countryman Tommy Paul to become the youngest American man in more than 20 years to reach the quarter-finals in New York.

Shelton lost against Paul in four sets in the Australian Open quarter-finals in January, but ensured history did not repeat itself at the final major of the season. The lefty recovered from squandering a 4-1 lead in the third set to triumph 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

"I learned to be mentally tough," Shelton said when reflecting on his previous match against Paul. "When I was playing in Australia after a long week I was looking at my box saying 'My legs are dead, I am tired, I can't go anymore'. I realised how important it is to believe in myself. That I can go the full way emotionally and physically and now I have that belief here."

With his two-hour, 50-minute victory, Shelton has become the youngest American to advance to the last eight since a then-20-year-old Andy Roddick in 2002. The 2003 champion Roddick fell in the quarter-final stage that year, but Shelton will be hoping to go at least one step further and reach his maiden slam semi-final when he takes on Frances Tiafoe or Rinky Hijikata on Tuesday.

"Being at home here in front of an American crowd, I have felt the love all week. I played another American today and we had a great battle," Shelton said. "It is hard to believe I am playing on Arthur Ashe right now with the stands completely full."

Editor's note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es.

It’s difficult to imagine Juan Sebastian Cabal without Robert Farah, or Farah without Cabal. Or, of course, the ATP Tour without the iconic Colombian doubles duo. But time waits for no man, and on Friday at the US Open their Grand Slam career reached its conclusion.

On court 12 of Flushing Meadows, they gave their all but eventually fell against Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski, 7-6(2), 1-6, 6-3, in two hours and 33 minutes.

“Above all, I felt happy with the people, the atmosphere, with how the match went,” confessed Cabal, after battling it out with the No. 1 seeds. “These last matches, both here and at Wimbledon, were against good pairs and they were close. There’s no better way to say goodbye, fighting, giving everything, with an incredible atmosphere on court.”

“I have to thank the Colombians and all the people from other countries that support and follow us, because there was an incredible atmosphere on court. We gave everything until the final point. In every match, at every tournament we entered and a wonderful journey has come to an end.”

Editor's note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es.

The first time Carlos Alcaraz left Arthur Ashe Stadium in disbelief was on 3 September 2021. That day, the 18-year-old Spaniard upset Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round of the US Open, defeating the Greek in five sets after coming back in the decider. And he did so in stunning fashion.

In that encounter, Alcaraz introduced himself to the world on the big stage. His dazzling brand of tennis, replete with jaw-dropping shots, quickly captured the imaginations of the New York crowds.

However, what happened in 2021 was just the beginning of a relationship that was consolidated in 2022, when Alcaraz won the US Open, his first Grand Slam title, claiming the No. 1 spot in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings along the way. To get his hands on the trophy, Alcaraz had to advance through three five-set matches; against Marin Cilic (fourth round), Jannik Sinner (quarter-finals) and Frances Tiafoe (semi-finals), before seeing off Casper Ruud in the final.

[BREAK POINT]

Daniil Medvedev took a sledgehammer to Sebastian Baez's 12-match winning streak inside Arthur Ashe Stadium Saturday night, defeating the diminutive Argentine 6-2, 6-1 7-6(6) at 1:30 a.m. to power into the fourth round of the US Open.

Standing 6’6” to Baez's 5’7”, Medvedev leveraged his decisive physical advantage and big-match experience to dominate the contest from start to finish. He looked beyond comfortable in extended backhand-to-backhand exchanges and while Baez matched Medvedev's forehand strikes - especially in the third set - he authored his own demise with 55 unforced errors and by converting just two of 12 break point chances.

After a subdued opening two sets, Baez took the fight to Medvedev in the third, hitting bigger forehands and coming to net 17 times, nearing the 18 total net visits he made in the first two rounds.

Baez led 5-2 in the third set but his momentum was halted by a 10-minute delay for light rain. When play resumed Medvedev broke to get back on serve at 4-5, fended off one set point in the following game, and dug out of a 0/30 hole in his next service game. Baez made a number of tired unforced errors at key moments, including at 6/6 serving in the tie-break.

The former World No. 1 will now try to snap a two-match losing streak against Alex de Minaur, although he leads the Australian 4-2 overall in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

Rinky Hijikata has been one of the breakthrough stars of the US Open, advancing to the fourth round at a major for the first time.

The former North Carolina Tarheel has enjoyed special moments at Flushing Meadows in the past, including his debut last year when he played Rafael Nadal and won a set against the Spaniard. The reigning Australian Open doubles champion (w/Jason Kubler) will try to make his maiden Slam singles quarter-final when he faces 2022 semi-finalist Frances Tiafoe on Sunday.

Having never previously cracked the world's Top 100, Hijikata is up to a career-high No. 81 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. ATPTour.com spoke to the 22-year-old earlier this North American summer to get to know him better off the court.

If you could have dinner with any three people who would they be and why?
Not too sure. Maybe Dan Carter, who is a New Zealand rugby player, and I really liked watching him play. He was probably one of my favourite athletes growing up. Maybe Barack Obama, I feel like he's a pretty cool guy, so get some politics in there. And then I'm not I'm not too sure, maybe stick to sport and Michael Jordan. UNC connection there.

How big is he still at school?
Obviously he's an absolute icon. He's probably one of if not the best athletes ever come out of UNC. We have a rich history of sport and a lot of people having success in their professional careers. Yeah, just having him as kind of a symbol of what you can achieve after you've left UNC is pretty cool. And I think he's a huge part of the culture there.

Tennis matches can turn on a single point, which was as evident as ever in Alexander Zverev’s four-set win over Grigor Dimitrov on Saturday evening at the US Open.

Dimitrov was playing tennis reminiscent of his days in the Top 5 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, showing jaw-dropping shotmaking, balletic movement and expert changes of pace with his knifing backhand slice. But the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion was unable to convert two set points to take a two-set lead and paid dearly.

Zverev rallied past the former World No. 3 6-7(2), 7-6(8), 6-1, 6-1 to advance to the fourth round at Flushing Meadows. The German, who has made it to the Round of 16 in four consecutive appearances at the event, will next play sixth seed Jannik Sinner, who defeated 2016 US Open champion Stan Wawrinka in four sets earlier in the day.

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This encounter was a far cry from Zverev’s 6-2, 6-2 win against Dimitrov just two weeks ago in Cincinnati. The first two sets featured some of the highest-quality tennis that has been played in the tournament so far. But once the former World No. 2 levelled the match, he seized the momentum and Dimitrov also began to falter.

Frances Tiafoe earned a tough four-set victory in the third round of the US Open on Friday against Adrian Mannarino. But some fans were more focussed on what happened involving the American later in the day.

After fulfilling his media obligations, Tiafoe visited the suite level inside Arthur Ashe Stadium to meet Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber.

The Biebers were on site to watch WTA star Coco Gauff play Elise Mertens. Gauff won the match in three sets.

Tiafoe, still in his match kit, enjoyed speaking with the celebrities before returning inside the suite to take a photo with his girlfriend, Ayan Broomfield, Justin and Hailey.

Fourteen consecutive wins and counting for Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury at the US Open.

The American-British pair maintained its perfect start to the 2023 edition of the hard-court major with a 6-3, 7-6(4) victory against Ben McLachlan and Yoshihito Nishioka on Saturday. Ram and Salisbury held their nerve in the second-set tie-break to seal their second straight-sets win of the week and book a third-round clash with Mackenzie McDonald and Andreas Mies.

Ram and Salisbury are chasing their fourth major title this fortnight in New York, where they lifted the trophy in 2021 and 2022. A strong run at the final major of the year would also boost the pair’s position in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings. Last year’s Nitto ATP Finals champions are currently 15th as they chase a fifth consecutive appearance at the season finale.

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Second seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek had a less straightforward passage to the third round. The Croatian-American duo let slip three match points in the second set before beating Petros Tsitsipas and Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-4. Grand Slam champions already this season at Roland Garros, Dodig and Krajicek will next take on home wild cards Denis Kudla and Vasil Kirkov, who beat Matwe Middelkoop and Mate Pavic 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

Jannik Sinner rose to the challenge of a former US Open champion Saturday in New York, where the sixth-seeded Italian overcame Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.

In a clash between two of the purest baseline strikers on Tour, Sinner stayed clutch at key moments to secure a two-hour, 58-minute triumph on Louis Armstrong Stadium. He converted five of 13 break points he earned, keeping his cool impressively after 2016 titlist Wawrinka had charged to the second set to level the pair’s sixth Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting.

???tillating ?@janniksin battles past Wawrinka in four sets to reach the last 16 in New York and now awaits the winner of Zverev/Dimitrov ?@usopen | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/FTTk3HQZih

The first of those clashes between Sinner and Wawrinka also took place in New York in 2019, when Wawrinka ousted a then-18-year-old Sinner across four sets on the Italian’s Grand Slam main-draw debut. Fast forward four years and Sinner showed why he is now an established Top 10 star, as he shut down Wawrinka’s revival with some razor-sharp returning that earned him two breaks of serve in each of the third and fourth sets.

“Obviously in four years a couple of things have changed, but I’m happy about my performance today,” said Sinner in his on-court interview. “I feel I wasn’t playing at my best, as he wasn’t playing at his best, but in key moments I handled it in a better way than him and I’m happy to be in the next round.”