Carlos Alcaraz continued to flash title credentials with another impressive win to reach the third round of the US Open.
The Spanish teenager overcame a late fightback from Argentina’s Federico Coria to seal 6-2 6-1 7-5 for his 46th win of the season.
He used his trademark power strokes and speed to win 10 straight points to win the first set before breaking immediately in the second to cruise to a 2-nil lead. Things got tougher for the teenager in the third set with Coria refusing to go down without a fight.
A marathon game at 4-4 ensued but Alcaraz, having saved 14 of the 15 breakpoints in the match already, used his serve to get out of trouble before sealing the match.
With Djokovic out of the picture, Alcaraz has a golden opportunity to win the US Open with Nadal, who he has already beaten this season, the likeliest of obstacles in his path.
The third seed will next take on Jenson Brooksby who eliminated Cincinnati Open Champion Borna Coric 6-4 7-6(10) 6-1 earlier in the day.
Brooksby’s “passionate” cries after winning each point got under the Croatian’s skin who complained to the umpire to no avail. The California native reaches the third round at Flushing Meadows for the second consecutive year. Last time he also took the first set off Novak Djokovic before falling to the tournament’s finalist.
Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal had to fight back from a set down for a second consecutive match to beat Fabio Fognini 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1. The 22-time major winner is still feeling the effects of an abdominal injury but continues to fight for a third grand slam this year after winning the Australian Open and the French Open.
Meanwhile, Andrey Rublev, Lorenzo Musetti, Cameron Norrie, Jannik Sinner, Marin Čilić, Frances Tiafoe, Diego Schwartzman and Richard Gasquet all reached the next round as well.
