World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz has won the fourth round with a direct victory over unseeded Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech.
The 22-year-old made his final eight in New York for the fourth time in five years but has not yet stood out in this year’s game, defeating 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 6-4.
Espanyol will face Jiri Lehecka in the quarterfinals after the Czech seed beat Adrian Mannarino in four sets.
Alcaraz sometimes had to be at its best, leaving 36 winners making 11 uncompulsory mistakes, chasing several shots, and even producing a luxury round return to return to Counter Rinderknech’s offensive approach.
Although both players were under 50% in the first session, there was no breakout point in a tense opening, and Alkaraz ended up with a 7-3 tiebreaker.
Rinder Knech encountered 17 untimely doubles in the first set, bringing five consecutive scores to his opponent, who then turned the second of his four fixed points into second.
“The first set was tight. We didn’t have a break, which doesn’t mean we were well served – both of us had a poor percentage.”
“But after that, I got a good pace and tried to make the most of the opportunity.
“I played great offensive tennis, found a good pace after the second set and tried to keep going.”
He said: “Sometimes I practice them and I won’t lie!
“If I had a chance, why not? People like it, and I like playing tennis like this, that’s natural.”
