Tennis
U.S. Open
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Updated 25s ago
The 2025 U.S. Open fourth round is underway today at Flushing Meadows.
Carlos Alcaraz (2) is facing Arthur Rinderknech on Arthur Ashe, while Novak Djokovic (7) and Aryna Sabalenka (1) will be in action later today.
There is plenty of American interest today, with the No. 4 seeds in both the men’s and women’s singles playing. Jessica Pegula dominated Ann Li in straight sets, while Taylor Fritz is coming up later. Meanwhile, Taylor Townsend, is continuing her remarkable run at this year’s U.S. Open against two-time Grand Slam winner Barbora Krejčíková.
First time Carlos Alcaraz has reached the quarterfinals of a slam without dropping a set. He's locked in, mixing the spectacular with the solid. A scary prospect for the rest of the field.
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FINAL: Alcaraz 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-4, Rinderknech
Carlos Alcaraz is back in the U.S. Open quarterfinal. Even Stephen Colbert can't believe what he's watching. The Spaniard wins in straight sets in a little over two hours.
After a shaky serving first set, Alcaraz locked in, showcasing his wide arsenal of shots to wow the crowd. The second seed has reached the quarterfinal at all four slams this year.
Alcaraz will face Jiri Lehecka next.
Carlos Alcaraz brings out the drop shot lob, which he only uses either to win Wimbledon finals or to signal that he is vibing.
Loud roars for late-night host Stephen Colbert, who appears on the video board with his wife at Arthur Ashe for the match between Carlos Alcaraz and Arthur Rinderknech.
Townsend's legs went in that one. No lift on the serves. Another second serve at 66 mph. Whether it's fatigue or nerves, she's going to need another lift.
Unlike in the last set, Barbora Krejčíková has been knocking on the door of Taylor Townsend’s serve throughout this second set. A huge part of it is that Townsend’s first serve has not been nearly as strong. And we’re starting to see her second serve crack too; she double faulted to lose the game. Still, this set is on serve, with Townsend up 3-2.
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Alcaraz 7-6(3), 6-3, *5-4 Rinderknech
Carlos Alcaraz hits a second forehand crosscourt that has Arthur Rinderknech sprawling toward the umpire's chair to bring up three break points. It's another hyperdrive return game at the business end of the set, and he will now serve for the match.
Townsend 6-1, 3-2* Krejčíková
Krejčíková has break point but Townsend fends her off with consecutive forehand winners to secure the advantage.
Krejčíková responds with a forehand winner on the chalk that shocks Townsend, who regains her advantage moments later after an errant shot by her opponent.
Townsend cannot capitalize though, double faulting.
A forehand winner for Krejčíková gives her break point again and this time she converts after another Townsend double fault.
Carlos Alcaraz has the crowd on their feet with a ludicrous forehand crosscourt on the run off an Arthur Rinderknech overhead. He's up 0-30 at 4-4 in the third set, and will look to ride the wave of this energy to the finish line.
Carlos Alcaraz's match with Arthur Rinderknech is a neat little encapsulation of how tennis has changed in the past 30 years.
Rinderknech is world No. 82. He regularly serves at over 125 mph and sometimes 130, painting lines and finding angles. When Pete Sampras won the Wimbledon title in 1993, the greatest server in the world and probably of all time was serving around 120mph on average. What was once era-defining has become the bare minimum in men's tennis.
Having a fast serve has become so commonplace that even players with the fastest, including Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, Taylor Fritz, and his compatriots Reilly Opelka and Ben Shelton, largely joke about their serves, because they know that their special skill is no longer what can make them stand out when it comes to wins and titles.
Serving fast has become so de rigueur in men’s tennis that having the ability to return the ball is the edge, and in this matchup, Alcaraz is far sharper than his opponent.
One of the most remarkable things about Townsend's run is how aware she has been of everything she is doing, and how much it means to so many — without ever letting that magnitude onto the court with her.
“Keep the main thing the main thing,” as she has said throughout the past week.
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Alcaraz 7-6(3), 6-3, *3-4 Rinderknech
While Taylor Townsend continues to dominate on Louis Armstrong, Carlos Alcaraz and Arthur Rinderknech are racing through the third set.
The Frenchman is clocking his first serve at 77 percent while the Spaniard is at 62 percent.
Big service game for Alcaraz upcoming.
OK, this Taylor Townsend train is rolling again. She’s up a break in the second set, 3-1, and Barbora Krejčíková needs to find whatever she can to negate her sloppy groundstrokes. She tried coming to the net again. But Townsend delivered the logical response — a backhand lob winner?! Krejčíková badly needs to avoid letting Townsend think she can hit whatever she wants.
Townsend 6-1, *3-1 Krejčíková
Unbelievable shot from Taylor Townsend there to break Barbora Krejčíková.
On double break point, she lobs a shot perfectly over her opponent and onto the line to convert. All Krejčíková could do was stand and watch that ball land.
“Come on!” Taylor Townsend shouts as she throws down a 100 mile-an-hour serve to Barbora Krejčíková’s backhand to escape with her second hold in as many tries in this second set, going up 2-1. She’s been having a dialogue with herself all match, especially when she’s serving. Clearly a big moment for her career — if she wins she’ll be guaranteed her best result in any Grand Slam singles tournament.
Townsend has a lot of tennis and a lot of emotional days in her. She's in the doubles, too and doesn't get days off. She suddenly looks a little tired and is going to need to raise her energy to get over the line. She hit a 66 mph second serve at deuce and got away with it. That won't happen many more times I don't think.
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To my last point, Jannik Sinner does the same thing, by the way — just more often in the field of rally tolerance and sustained, repetitive quality. It's less visible, but also more demoralising for his opponents. That subtle difference partly explains why Carlos Alcaraz — less so in recent months — was more prone to tussling with players down the food chain.
Townsend 6-1, *2-1 Krejčíková
Both players hold serve to open the second set. Krejčíková had lost seven straight games prior to her hold.
It's Townsend's turn to match. She quickly jumps ahead 40-0 before a strong forehand winner from Krejčíková.
It's now 40-30 after Townsend hits a forehand long, followed by deuce after a drop shot finds the net.
Krejčíková returns the favor, finding nylon. Advantage Townsend but she finds the net with a forehand this time.
Break point for Krejčíková after Townsend yanks a forehand wide. Back to deuce as Krejčíková's backhand hits the net.
Back-to-back unforced errors by Krejčíková seal her fate as she misses another quality opportunity to break.
Alcaraz 7-6(3), 6-3, *2-3 Rinderknech
Carlos Alcaraz has caught himself out with a few half-baked approaches to the net, with the latest resulting in Arthur Rinderknech lacing a forehand onto his shoes. Alcaraz's tennis is so forcing that he pushes opponents to their end range.
That causes the fast swings and Hail Marys of desperation, and anyone inside the top 600 or even lower in this sport can blaze a groundstroke on the run from time to time and lean on that confidence.