Alcaraz, Sabalenka into US Open last 16 as Williams sisters lose on return

Defending singles champions Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka person sailed into the past 16 of the US Open arsenic tennis icons Serena and Venus Williams suffered an agonising decision connected their long-awaited instrumentality to Grand Slam doubles.

Alcaraz, coming disconnected a four-month wounded absence, bushed China’s Wu Yibing 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 connected Friday to publication his spot successful the 4th round, portion Sabalenka was likewise ascendant successful a 6-3, 6-4 decision of Kamilla Rakhimova.

Alcaraz volition look 20th-seeded American Tommy Paul for a spot successful the quarterfinals aft Paul bushed 15th-seeded Alexander Bublik 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-1, 6-3.

“The mode helium plays is unbelievable, the bushed helium has connected each changeable – forehand, backhand,” Alcaraz said of Wu. “His balls skid a batch connected the tribunal and, for me, it’s truly hard to power sometimes.

“But I deliberation I stayed there. I played aggressive. I played astute successful the toughest moments.”

Wu recovered an aboriginal interruption successful each of the archetypal 2 sets, but Alcaraz pocketed some with breaks successful the last games, and aft redeeming a brace of interruption points successful the archetypal crippled of the third, the Spaniard rolled home.

“I deliberation my level is truly good,” helium said. “I’ve got into the bushed of the competition. I’m getting there.”

World fig 1 Sabalenka did not look a interruption constituent successful her dismissal of Rakhimova, firing 29 winners with 10 aces.

The numbers did not archer the full communicative of a lucifer that saw 92nd-ranked Rakhimova situation Sabalenka successful a second-set slugfest.

Sabalenka was besides unimpressed by the pervasive smell of marijuana – an progressively communal contented astatine the US Open – wafting down from the stands during her match.

“It’s a spot tricky to grip that odor portion you’re trying to vie astatine your best,” said Sabalenka, who astatine 1 constituent complained to the umpire astir the issue.

Sabalenka, who indispensable repetition arsenic champion to person a accidental of remaining fig one, adjacent faces Taylor Townsend, the 96th-ranked American who bushed 15th-seeded Russian Diana Shnaider 6-2, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3.

Williams sisters suffer thriller

With Alcaraz and Sabalenka among the aboriginal starters, each eyes connected the evening league were connected the Williams sisters, partnering successful a Grand Slam doubles lawsuit for the archetypal clip since 2022.

The duo returned to the US Open signifier comes aft 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena came retired of a four-year status to play astatine Wimbledon.

But the astir celebrated sister enactment successful tennis – who won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles unneurotic on with 3 Olympic golden medals – were beaten 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (10/7) by 14th seeds Chan Hao-ching of Taiwan and Australia’s Maya Joint successful a marathon three-hour battle.

The Williams duo had shown flashes of their superb champion aft recovering from losing the archetypal acceptable to level the lucifer aft taking the 2nd acceptable connected a tie-break.

Momentum and a raucous New York assemblage appeared to beryllium carrying them towards triumph aft they sprinted into a 5-0 pb successful the third-set tie-break. But Chan and Joint fought backmost superbly to erase the shortage earlier clinching victory.

Serena Williams, right, and her sister Venus shingle hands with Chan Hao-ching, left, and Maya Joint aft losing their women’s doubles first-round tennis lucifer [Kena Betancu/AFP]

Pegula through, Muchova upset

In different singles enactment connected Friday, third-seeded American Jessica Pegula, 1 of the players with a accidental to sound Sabalenka disconnected her No 1 perch, mounted a hopeless fightback to bushed Canadian Leylah Fernandez 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 successful a conflict of erstwhile finalists.

Elsewhere, Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk bushed Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3, 6-2 and American Emma Navarro upset seventh-seeded Czech Karolina Muchova 6-3, 7-5.

Back successful the men’s draw, American 11th effect Frances Tiafoe was a comfy 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 victor implicit Monaco’s Valentin Vacherot, seeded 22.

Tiafoe’s triumph earned him a past 16 showdown with Russian seventh effect Daniil Medvedev.

Medvedev was a likewise unfussy victor implicit French 26th effect Arthur Rinderknech, easing to a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 triumph successful conscionable nether 2 hours.

Unseeded erstwhile satellite fig 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas – whose ranking has plummeted to 53 – meantime toppled 18th effect Jiri Lehecka, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7/3), 6-1 to scope the US Open 4th circular for the archetypal time.

Tsitsipas volition look American eighth effect Ben Shelton successful the past 16. Shelton defeated Canada’s Denis Shapovalov 7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-4 successful the precocious match.