Serving Up History! US Open Quarter-Finals Are Set — and It’s a Wild Ride
Quick Summary
The US Open tennis tournament is down to its last eight players. Both defending champions — Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka — won their fourth-round matches over the weekend. American tennis fans have extra reason to cheer, because at least one American man is guaranteed to reach the semi-finals!
What Happened?
On Sunday night at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York, the top stars showed why they are the ones to beat.
Carlos Alcaraz, the reigning men’s champion from Spain, defeated American Tommy Paul 6–4, 6–3, 6–4. He won every set without dropping one. He has now won 18 straight Grand Slam matches in a row — that’s like winning 18 spelling bees back-to-back without a single mistake.
Alcaraz is chasing something no man has ever done before. If he wins the title, he would become the first man in the modern era to successfully defend his championship on all three different tennis surfaces: clay, grass, and hard court.
On the women’s side, world number one Aryna Sabalenka beat Taylor Townsend 6–4, 6–3 to stay on track for a third US Open title in a row. Sabalenka is from Belarus. She had to dig deep after losing her serve several times early in the match, but she fought back brilliantly.
Earlier results set up something extra special in the men’s draw. American Frances Tiafoe beat former champion Daniil Medvedev in three sets. His countryman Alex Michelsen also won — without dropping a single set all tournament. That means Tiafoe and Michelsen will play each other in the quarter-finals. No matter who wins that match, an American man will definitely reach the semi-finals.
Another American, Ben Shelton, is also through. He will face Alcaraz next. American Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro both advanced on the women’s side too.
Why Does It Matter?
This is one of the most exciting US Opens in years. Having five American men reach the final sixteen at a Grand Slam has not happened since 1995 — that was over 30 years ago! Alcaraz’s run at history, and the possibility of an all-American men’s semi-final, makes every match this week unmissable.
Big Words
- Grand Slam — one of the four biggest tennis tournaments in the world: the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open
- Quarter-final — the round where eight players remain and compete to become one of four semi-finalists
- Defending champion — the player who won the same tournament the year before and is trying to win it again
- Hard court — a tennis surface made of a hard material like asphalt or concrete, which makes the ball bounce fast and high
- Unseeded — a player who tournament organizers did not rank among the top favorites, making their deep run a surprise
Fun Fact
The US Open is played on blue courts. Most tennis courts are green or red clay. The bright blue color was introduced to make it easier for TV viewers to see the yellow ball!
Think About It
If you were a tennis player, which surface would you want to compete on — clay, grass, or hard court — and why?
Sources
- CBS Sports — ‘Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton among Americans to reach quarterfinals’
- Sky Sports — ‘Defending champions Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka reach quarter-finals’
- Washington Post — ‘Defending champions Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz reach the US Open quarterfinals’
- Outlook India — ‘Aryna Sabalenka And Carlos Alcaraz Cruise Into Quarterfinals With Straight-Set Wins’