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Karen Khachanov has edged Nick Kyrgios in a big-serving battle in the early hours of Wednesday morning to charge into the first Grand Slam semi-final of his career at the US Open.

In a match devoid of atmosphere in the first half and overflowing with electricity in the second half, the 27th seed withstood 31 aces and vocal crowd support for his opponent en route to a 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 6-7(3) 6-4 win in three hours, 39 minutes after earlier coming within two points of victory in the fourth set.

Khachanov, who fired 30 aces himself, advances to play Norway’s Casper Ruud, who has the opportunity to finish the tournament at No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

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"I did it! I did it!," Khachanov said. "I'm really proud of myself, I was focussed from the beginning to the end.

Jannik Sinner is one of the brightest young talents in recent memory. The Italian, who turned 21 last month, has already triumphed at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, competed in the Nitto ATP Finals, lifted six tour-level trophies and cracked the Top 10 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

Do not tell him about his accomplishments, though. According to Sinner, this is just the beginning, which is a scary thought for his colleagues on the ATP Tour.

“I know already what I have in my game, so I try to stay confident with that, but also humble because at the end of the day I didn’t win basically nothing or for sure no important matches,” Sinner told ATPTour.com. “It’s all part of the process. I don’t want to rush myself, but I think I can be proud of what I am doing, so hopefully I keep this up.”

For Sinner, this is not about rushing to lift a particular trophy or defeating a particular opponent. From a young age, he has had lofty ambitions. On Wednesday, he will play Carlos Alcaraz in the US Open quarter-finals. But just three years ago, he was a qualifier who spoke to the media in a small cubicle inside the media centre at Flushing Meadows.

“I want to be the best player not only in Italy,” Sinner said that day. “But maybe once I can say that I’m the best player in the world.”

The growing #NextGenATP rivalry between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner arrives in New York on Wednesday, when two of the sport’s biggest young talents meet for a third tour-level meeting of the season in the quarter-finals of the US Open.

The last American in the draw, Frances Tiafoe, will attempt to back up his stunning fourth-round win over Rafael Nadal when he faces Andrey Rublev, as all four quarter-finalists in the bottom half of the draw bid to reach the last four of a Grand Slam for the first time.

ATPTour.com previews the quarter-final action on Day 10 at Flushing Meadows.

View Schedule | View Singles Draw | View Doubles Draw

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Defending champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury overcame fierce resistance from Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski on Tuesday to complete a 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-4 quarter-final victory and maintain their push for back-to-back titles at the US Open in New York.

The top-seeded American-British pair let slip four match points at 5-4 in the second set as Nys and Zielinski rallied to clinch the second-set tie-break and force a decider on Louis Armstrong Stadium. Ram and Salisbury, who are chasing their third Grand Slam crown this fortnight at Flushing Meadows, responded by sealing a decisive break in the opening game of the third set, going on to wrap a two-hour, 34-minute triumph.

Ram and Salisbury, who have lifted ATP Masters 1000 trophies in Cincinnati and Monte Carlo this season, will next face 11th seeds Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara or 2019 champions Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in New York.

unstoppable force meet immovable object pic.twitter.com/ZntPUCN2M6

Second seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski enjoyed a smoother passage to the semi-finals, easing past Marcelo Demoliner and Joao Sousa 6-3, 6-1 in just 63 minutes.

Casper Ruud was bidding to reach his maiden US Open semi-final and fighting to keep his World No. 1 hopes alive on Tuesday in New York. Yet the Norwegian showed no signs of pressure in dismissing 13th seed Matteo Berrettini with a statement 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(4) quarter-final victory at Flushing Meadows.

Ruud was ruthless on return as he made a dream start on Arthur Ashe Stadium, where he surged to a 6-1, 5-1 lead by frequently cutting through Berrettini’s defences with some sublime clean hitting from the baseline. Although the Italian recovered from a wayward start to find his feet and break Ruud’s serve early in the third set, the Norwegian’s heavy forehand and tenacity around the court proved decisive as he rallied to dominate the third-set tie-break and wrap a two-hour, 35-minute win.

“That was a better start than I think I ever had before in a match,” said Ruud, who had not been past the third round in New York prior to this year. “Everything was going my way, I was hitting all the spots I needed to plus Matteo maybe didn’t serve as well as he usually does. I was able to take care of the chances that I got.

“I got a little bit nervous towards the end of the second set, because things were almost going too well. It’s good, but sometimes you can get over-excited and start to think you can walk on water… So I had to calm down a little bit, and luckily was able to serve out the second set, and the third set was very tough.”

Ruud will take on Nick Kyrgios or Karen Khachanov in the semi-finals.

Carlos Alcaraz continued his march towards becoming the youngest World No. 1 in Pepperstone ATP Rankings in the early hours of Tuesday morning, when he clawed past 2014 champion Marin Cilic in the fourth round of the US Open.

Alcaraz outlasted the former World No. 3 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows for the second consecutive year. The match ended at 2:23 a.m., marking the fourth-latest finish in tournament history.

“Honestly, I have no idea,” Alcaraz said of how he won the match. “It was pretty, pretty tough at the beginning of the fifth set [being a] break down. But Marin was playing unbelievable. I believe in myself all the time. Of course the support today in Arthur Ashe [Stadium] was crazy. Without you guys, it wouldn’t be possible to win this match tonight, so thank you very much for the support tonight, thank you.

“I would say 100 per cent of the energy I put in the fifth set was thanks to you. It was unbelievable.”

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Jannik Sinner advanced to the US Open quarter-finals Monday night but will be looking to retool his game before continuing his quest for a maiden Grand Slam title.

The 21-year-old Italian had a difficult night on serve in a rollercoaster five-set win over Ilya Ivashka, throwing in 14 double faults and putting just 46 per cent of first serves into play. Seven double faults alone in the second set (among 22 unforced errors) unexpectedly cost Sinner the set when he appeared to be cruising to a routine victory leading by a set and 4-2.

Ultimately the former Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champion had to rally from 1-3 in the fifth set to close out the win 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 and become the youngest player since Novak Djokovic (20, in 2007-08) to complete a set of quarter-final appearances at all four Grand Slams.

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But if Sinner is to reach his first major semi-final, he will need to sharpen his game ahead of a meeting with third seed Carlos Alcaraz or 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic.

Casper Ruud takes on Matteo Berrettini as the US Open quarter-final action kicks off on Tuesday in New York, where the Norwegian seeks to maintain his challenge for the No. 1 spot in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

Nick Kyrgios and Karen Khachanov also meet in the last eight at the hard-court Grand Slam. The Australian is looking to back up his stunning fourth-round triumph against 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev.

ATPTour.com previews the quarter-final action on Day 9 at Flushing Meadows.

View Schedule | View Singles Draw | View Doubles Draw

[ATP APP]

Frances Tiafoe earned the biggest victory of his career on Monday against Rafael Nadal at the US Open. The thrilling moment became even more surreal when he returned to the locker room.

The American learned that NBA legend LeBron James had tweeted about his big win. That was huge considering Tiafoe has used James’ ‘Silencer’ celebration in the past.

“CONGRATS Young King!!! You earned it! @FTiafoe,” James tweeted, before following up with another tweet. “KEEP GOING!!!!! #StriveForGreatness”

CONGRATS Young King!!! You earned it! @FTiafoe ??✊??? https://t.co/QQ0Jn7Lotp

“Man, I was losing it in the locker room. Bro, I was going crazy,” Tiafoe said, cracking a smile. “That's my guy. So to see him post that, I was like, ‘Do I retweet it as soon as he sent it?’ I was like, ‘You know what, I'm going to be cool and act like I didn't see it and then retweet it three hours later.’

Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski moved to within three wins of capturing their first Grand Slam title and seventh tour-level crown of the season together Monday, edging Australians Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-3 at the US Open.

The second seeds, who became the first team to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals last week, raised their level in the key moments throughout their two-hour, 29-minute third-round win against the Wimbledon champions, breaking twice to advance.

The Dutch-British tandem will play Marcelo Demoliner and Joao Sousa in the quarter-finals after the Brazilian-Portuguese team downed Italians Lorenzo Sonego and Andrea Vavassori 7-6(4), 6-4.

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With the pressure on, Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara stepped up and delivered, clawing past Australian Open champions Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(10-7) in two hours and 10 minutes.

Rafael Nadal suffered a tough fourth-round exit at the US Open on Monday against American Frances Tiafoe. The 22-time major champion was clear that there are no excuses. Tiafoe was simply the better player on the day.

“We can make lamentations or we can complain now about a lot of things, but I don't think that [is] going to change any situation,” Nadal said. “We can think, if I [didn’t] get injured, maybe I win Wimbledon. Maybe I win [other] things [in] the past. Or maybe I lost [other] things because I was not able to create this interior power after all that injuries.

“That's part of my career. A lot of times went the proper way; sometimes completely unexpected like Australia, like Roland Garros.Of course, this was not the ideal preparation for me. But in other cases went the right way, even with not the perfect preparation. We can't find excuses. We need to be enough critical with myself. That's the only way to improve or that's the only way that I understand you are able to find solutions.”

Tiafoe played a clean, aggressive match in which he took the action to Nadal. The American hit 49 winners compared to just 28 unforced errors to reach his first quarter-final at Flushing Meadows. Nadal was unable to find a solution inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“The difference is easy: I played a bad match and he played a good match. At the end that's it,” Nadal said. “I was not able to hold a high level of tennis for a long time. I was not enough quick on my movements. He was able to take the ball too many times very early, so I was not able to push him back.

Dear Arthur,

I did not have much growing up. My parents are both immigrants from Sierra Leone. My dad was a janitor at a tennis facility in Maryland, and I was lucky to be around the sport from a young age, even if I did not have the money or opportunities a lot of other kids did. None of that stopped me from dreaming big. I pushed myself to the limit every day with a big smile on my face.

Here I am, 22 years old, and I just found out that I won the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award. That little kid with big dreams now has his name associated with yours. That is insane.

But I know this is not just an award. It is a tremendous honor and a massive responsibility. I am not just that smiley kid on the rise anymore. I know I need to carry the torch and make a difference in the world.

This year my girlfriend and I made a video called, “Racquets Down, Hands Up” to try to spread awareness about unjust deaths of African-Americans in the United States. We were able to get a lot of Black tennis players involved, from Serena Williams and Coco Gauff to Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Rafael Nadal’s fourth-round US Open loss has opened the door for Carlos Alcaraz or Casper Ruud to leave New York as the No. 1 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

Alcaraz or Ruud must make the final to have a chance of reaching the pinnacle of men’s tennis. If neither does so, Nadal will return to World No. 1. If Alcaraz and Ruud meet in the championship match, the winner will take home the trophy and the top spot.

The tournament began with five players battling for World No. 1: Nadal, Alcaraz, Ruud, Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Nadal, Medvedev and Tsitsipas failed to reach the quarter-finals. Alcaraz faces Marin Cilic in the fourth round on Monday evening.

Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings Round By Round

Alcaraz and Ruud both have an opportunity to make history at Flushing Meadows.

American Frances Tiafoe stunned four-time champion Rafael Nadal 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Monday at the US Open to reach his second Grand Slam quarter-final.

The pumped-up 24-year-old played fearlessly throughout the three-hour, 31-minute thriller on Arthur Ashe Stadium to earn his third Top 5 win. Tiafoe hammered the ball off both wings and rallied from a break down in the fourth set to become the first American man to reach the last eight in New York since John Isner in 2018 and the youngest to accomplish the feat since Andy Roddick in 2006.

"I'm beyond happy, almost in tears, I can't believe it," Tiafoe said in his on-court interview. "I played unbelievable tennis today. I really don't know what happened."

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Tiafoe had never won a set against Nadal and trailed the Spaniard 0-2 in their ATP Head2Head series prior to their meeting in New York. However, the American struck 49 winners to turn the tables in style, gaining revenge for his quarter-final defeat at the Australian Open in 2019.

It was an emotional scene Friday on Court 13 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. After Bruno Soares missed a forehand volley into the net, he shared a lengthy embrace with partner Jamie Murray. It was not only the end of their US Open, but the last match of Soares’ career.

The 40-year-old Brazilian was part of the year-end No. 1 pair in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Teams Rankings twice, claimed 35 tour-level men’s doubles titles, lifted six Grand Slam trophies — three in men’s doubles and three in mixed doubles — and won 545 tour-level matches in his illustrious career.

Soares, who knew 2022 would be his final season within the first few months of the year, is thrilled with all he accomplished on the court. But the locker-room favourite is even more touched by the outpouring of support he has received from his colleagues and fans.

“It’s kind of overwhelming to see how much I’ve been through, but also for me I think the nicest part is just friends, family, fans, everyone, the messages that I got. I think this is for me the most special part,” Soares told ATPTour.com. “[There have been] so many good things to read and I’ve always said the titles, the career, they are really amazing. In the end of the day, it’s the person that counts, so I feel extremely blessed and honoured to be able to get all this love and amazing support and messages in this special moment of my life.”

One of those messages came from fellow Brazilian Marcelo Melo. The former doubles World No. 1 posted on social media a series of images with Soares. They both are from Belo Horizonte and have grown up to take on the world of professional tennis together.

Andrey Rublev took a leaf out of the Cameron Norrie playbook Monday at the US Open, where the hard-hitting ninth seed produced a rock-solid fourth-round showing to down the Briton 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in New York.

Rublev struck consistently from deep and was clinical with his chances on return as he capitalised on an uncharacteristically wayward performance from the seventh-seeded Norrie to wrap a two-hour, 26-minute victory and reach his fifth Grand Slam quarter-final. The 24-year-old fired 30 winners and made just 17 unforced errors en route to beating a Top 10 opponent at the US Open for the fourth time.

“It was tough, especially when we’ve known each other for a long time,” said Rublev in his on-court interview. “Last time he beat me, so of course I was coming on court thinking I need to give my best, play really well, and I think today I played a good match.

“Cameron maybe was a bit tired, because in some moments he helped me, but this is the US Open, this is a Grand Slam and everyone is nervous, everyone is tight, everyone wants to win. So this is normal. In the end I was able to win in three sets and I’m super happy.”

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Two Italian youngsters, Luca Nardi and Francesco Passaro, are making a push for the eight-player Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals after strong weeks on the ATP Challenger Tour. Nardi claimed his third ATP Challenger Tour title of the season (Forli, Lugano) in Mallorca, Spain, while Passaro reached the final at the Como Challenger.

Nardi, 19, outlasted Belgian Zizou Bergs Sunday in a three-set battle, 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-5 to triumph at the Rafa Nadal Open by Sotheby’s.

Needing a deciding set in four out of his five matches, the Italian is the fifth player to win at least three Challenger Tour titles this year. Argentine Pedro Cachin and Briton Jack Draper lead the Challenger Tour with four titles this season while Nardi, Constant Lestienne, and Wu Yibing are tied with three titles each. The Pesaro native’s trio of titles leads the group of seven teenagers who have claimed a Challenger title in 2022.

Nardi improves to 12th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan and looks to continue climbing to claim his spot in Milan, Italy, where the world’s best 21-and-under players compete in the season finale Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals. The 19-year-old rises to a career-high mark No. 142 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

Bergs, seeded fourth, advanced to the final without dropping a set and climbs to a career-high 136 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

The battle for No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings is down to three players following Daniil Medvedev’s fourth-round loss at the US Open on Sunday evening against Nick Kyrgios. Rafael Nadal is in pole position to leave New York in the top spot, while Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud still have an opportunity to climb to the top of men's tennis' mountain

Alcaraz and Ruud must reach the final to have a chance to leave New York as World No. 1. If Nadal advances to the quarter-finals, he will force Alcaraz or Ruud to win the title.

Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings Round By Round

Nadal is in the best position in the battle for No. 1, but Alcaraz also controls his own destiny because he is on the same half of the draw as the lefty and could eliminate him in the semi-finals. If Nadal reaches the final at Flushing Meadows, he will leave New York as World No. 1. If Alcaraz and Ruud play in the US Open final, the winner will leave New York as a first-time World No. 1.

If Alcaraz earns the top spot, he will become the youngest World No. 1 in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. If Ruud climbs to the pinnacle, he will become the first Norwegian to do so.

Nick Kyrgios’ blockbuster clash against Daniil Medvedev featured one of the most bizarre moments of the US Open.

The 27-year-old eventually won the match in four sets. However, he cost himself a break point opportunity at 30-all on Medvedev’s serve at 1-0 in the third set. The top seed floated a volley high in the air, and the ball clearly was not going to make it to Kyrgios’ side of the court. Instead of letting it bounce and winning the point, the 23rd seed ran to the other side of the court and hit the ball out of the air before putting his index finger in the air to celebrate.

The chair umpire correctly awarded the point to Medvedev, who went on to hold the service game.

“I think I had probably the most boneheaded play of all time tonight. I thought it was legal to be honest. I genuinely thought it was legal,” Kyrgios said in an interview with ESPN. “I thought I was playing the concrete streets of my suburb in Canberra. That’s something I would do there and I realised that it wasn’t legal. You can see my face… I was so happy. I was like, ‘That’s the best shot ever’ and it wasn’t legal. But it was fun.”

It seemed that would be a critical moment in the match that could have tilted the action in Medvedev’s favour. Instead, the Australian earned a service break in his next return game and never looked back.

Closing the books on his Grand Slam season with a fourth-round exit to Nick Kyrgios at Flushing Meadows on Sunday night, Daniil Medvedev was left to rue missed opportunities at this year’s majors… and the end of his reign as World No. 1.

Medvedev’s 7-6(11), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 defeat to the Australian showman means that he will relinquish his hold on the No. 1 Pepperstone ATP Ranking after the US Open after spending 17 weeks in that position throughout the year. With just one run beyond the fourth round at this year’s Slams (a runner-up finish at the Australian Open), the 26-year-old said that he will be motivated for a stronger showing at the majors in 2023, and to reclaim World No. 1, hopefully before the end of the year.

In his post match press-conference, the defending champion said that he was ‘disappointed’ and knows that he needs to perform better to return to World No. 1 and to become a multiple Grand Slam winner.

“It was not the first thing on my mind walking after the match, saying, ‘Damn, will not be the World No. 1 any more,’” Medvedev said.

“I actually don't know which place I will be. Probably three or four. I guess Carlos (Alcaraz) will pass me. I don't know, actually. But that's motivation, try to do better. Obviously it was the last Slam of the year. Didn't do well enough. Didn't win in Australia when I had the chance. Didn't get the chance to play Wimbledon. Roland Garros, lost fourth round. Here fourth round. Yeah, should do better. Should get more points if I want to be World No. 1 again.”