Alcaraz sets up US Open quarter-final with Shelton

Sabalenka stays on course for a three-peat as Tiafoe, Michelsen, Pegula and Navarro reach the last eight

NEW YORK: Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz posted his most convincing win of his injury return at the US Open, downing Tommy Paul in straight sets on Sunday to line up a quarter-final clash with Ben Shelton. Two-time women's defending champion Aryna Sabalenka also advanced, booking a last-eight date with Wimbledon winner Linda Noskova.

Second-seeded Alcaraz, playing his first tournament since he was sidelined by a right wrist injury in April, looked closer to his brilliant best in a 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Paul, the 20th-seeded American who posed the Spaniard's sternest test yet. "I played my game," said Alcaraz, who unleashed 33 winners as he moved fluidly around the court, thwarting Paul at every turn in the two-hour 20-minute match. "Tommy is such a talented player. His shots are pretty dangerous and sometimes it's really difficult to control the ball when it comes to you. I just tried to be ready for a battle and tried to be aggressive all the time."

Alcaraz grabbed the first break of the contest in the final game of a tight first set and was in control from there, breaking Paul twice in the second set and again early in the third. He finished it off with a gutsy hold in which he saved a pair of break points, the second with a swinging forehand volley that he followed with a forehand winner to set up the only match point he needed.

Shelton, who needed four sets in each of his first three matches, raised his game to dismantle former world number three Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 52 minutes. The American, riding high after a strong August that included a title at the ATP Montreal Masters, blasted a dozen aces and never faced a break point. "I played a complete match from start to finish," Shelton said. "To not play for five months then do what he's done so far this tournament has been super-human. I think it's going to be fireworks on Tuesday night."

Sabalenka kept her bid for a rare US Open three-peat on track with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over American Taylor Townsend. The Belarusian, whose world number one ranking is on the line in New York, needed all of her resolve against the multi-faceted Townsend, whose blistering service returns and net prowess flummoxed her in a first set that opened with five breaks of serve. Sabalenka's sustained power and precision proved too much, and after falling behind 3-1 in the second set she won the last five games. "I was just trying to stay focused on myself and play not only point by point but ball by ball," she said.

She now faces a tough quarter-final against sixth-ranked Czech Noskova, who edged dangerous Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk 7-5, 5-7, 6-4, needing six match points after failing to convert two in the second set. "I am more than relieved," Noskova said. "This match was so tough, emotionally more so than physically."

American Frances Tiafoe, the 11th seed who has twice reached the semi-finals in Flushing Meadows, booked his quarter-final berth with a 7-6 (7/1), 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) victory over former champion Daniil Medvedev. "Hell of a match," Tiafoe said. "I played well when it counted." He will face compatriot Alex Michelsen, who defeated Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry 7-6 (8/6), 6-4, 6-4.

Women's third seed Jessica Pegula also advanced the US cause. Pegula, one of the players with a chance to supplant Sabalenka atop the rankings in New York, reached the last eight with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Romanian Sorana Cirstea and will play fellow American Emma Navarro, who defeated Anna Kalinskaya 6-4, 6-2. — AFP