Mats Wilander has pointed to Carlos Alcaraz as the player to beat at this year’s US Open, citing the Spaniard’s form through three rounds and a level of focus that has impressed the former world No 1. “Alcaraz is playing extremely well,” said Wilander. “He’s unbelievably focused, the movement is just so good it seems impossible to hit the ball past him. “His forehand, he said himself is not perfect, to me it looks pretty perfect, and he is serving well. “Early in the tournament, for once, he looks like the man to beat.”

Alcaraz reached the last 16 with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 win over Lucas Darderi, having not dropped a set in his prior matches. He entered the tournament having won 30 of his last 31 matches, his only recent loss coming to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final.

Sinner, the defending champion, remains a favourite for many and, like Alcaraz, had not dropped a set at this stage of the event.

Alcaraz will next meet world No 82 Arthur Rinderknech, who recovered from a set down to Benjamin Bonzi. Earlier in the tournament Rinderknech had survived a five-set match with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The world No 2 has beaten Rinderknech on three occasions, two of those matches going the distance. Their closest meeting finished 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(3) at Queen’s Club in 2023, a result that helped propel Alcaraz to his first Wimbledon title.

“Rinderknech has a big serve and big game,” analysed the Swede. “He can rush Alcaraz, maybe take the second serve return and come to the net, maybe hit the ball really hard down the middle and come to the net, do something that will surprise Alcaraz. “I think he has a chance to at least win a set.”

Alcaraz has a history of strong results at the US Open, reaching the quarter-finals on his first appearance at 18 and winning the title in 2022, but his straight-set defeat last year to Botic Van de Zandschulp has remained a point of reference. “I’m just trying not to do the same things as last year,” Alcaraz analysed. “Trying to improve and do the things much better. Every time that I step on the court, I’m just locked in from the first point until the last one. “I’m taking last year as motivation coming into this year, be more hungry, ambitious to do great things here. “This is a place that I love playing. The energy is crazy, so I’m just trying to feel the love and the energy from the people much more and playing as much matches as I can, that motivates me.”

On Rinderknech, Alcaraz added: “He’s really difficult to play against, really aggressive, big serve, trying to go to the net. “So it’s going to be really difficult, but as I said, I’m just trying to be focused on myself, that I’m playing great tennis, and I’m feeling really comfortable physically, mentally, and just feeling the ball really well. “I will try to think just about my goals, about myself, and let’s see, but it’s going to be a really interesting one.”

Ben Shelton arrived at the 2025 US Open among the contenders but was forced to leave his third-round encounter with Adrian Mannarino because of a left shoulder problem, ultimately retiring after Mannarino took the fourth set, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, ret. The No. 6 seed showed visible pain from the start of the fourth set and, in his first-ever mid-match retirement, left the court uncertain of what had caused the injury or how long recovery might take.

Former Australian Open semifinalist Chanda Rubin said, “It was tough to watch, and you just hope it’s not as serious as it looked in the moment. There’s a lot of things that could go wrong with the shoulder. It could be a really bad impingement; that would be preferable. It could be torn, but maybe not a bad tear, or it could be something that keeps him out for quite a while and even something that could require surgery.

“So hopefully, he can find out that information and he can use it to get back healthy, first and foremost. He’s got the experience of his dad, and we saw Bryan telling him to call it and just get off the court to figure out what this is to get ahead of it. I think that was a smart decision and they’re going to have to make a lot of smart decisions going forward.”

Shelton made his major breakthrough at this event in 2023, upsetting higher-ranked Americans Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe to reach his first Grand Slam semifinal, where he pushed eventual champion Novak Djokovic tough over three sets. He entered this fortnight fresh from his first Masters 1000 title earlier this month in Toronto and had been projected to meet former champion Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.

1998 US Open champion Lindsay Davenport said, “As an American player, this is the tournament you grow up dreaming about trying to win. This is the one that most of us, as junior players, this is the first one we got to step foot in for the majors. You could just see how crushed he was. He has hopes of winning this tournament. He’s been close. He built so much momentum this summer to try and make a run here. He wanted to play Alcaraz in the quarters and see what would happen. So, you could see the heartbreak on him.

“He’ll be back before we know it, but pretty crushing as an American. The first real time you think you have a chance to win here, and then injury takes you out? That’s hard to swallow.”

Fellow former world No. 1 Jim Courier offered a cautious positive note: “That’s the most important shot for him overall, so that doesn’t seem to be troubled by whatever this is. So, that’s my silver lining I’m trying to take from it. I’m sure they’ll be getting scans in New York City today or sometime soon to figure out what they need to do to go forward.”

Novak Djokovic moved into the fourth round of the US Open with a four-set victory over world No 35 Cameron Norrie, winning 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-3. The win was his 192nd victory at hard-court Grand Slams, a record, and included 18 aces, tying his own US Open mark.

The result continued a remarkably consistent season for the 38-year-old, who has reached the semi-final at the other three Grand Slams this year. Djokovic at times did not look entirely comfortable, taking an off-court medical timeout for an apparent back issue during the match.

Asked about retirement, Djokovic was candid in his response. He said: “I think I was quite honest in the press conference after the Wimbledon semifinals, I gave some clues about what’s on my mind,” the 24-time Grand Slam champion admitted, when asked if he is thinking about retirement.

“I mean, of course, now I ask myself more questions than ever about how long I want to continue at this level and how I want to approach my schedule to extend my career because I really want to keep playing.

“I still enjoy competing; I can be very demanding of myself and my team, I know that, but I still feel that I have game left, you know, to play at the highest level.

“As I’ve said several times, as long as I feel that level is still alive, still present, I feel like I want to move forward. I want to keep pushing to see if I can have another opportunity in a Grand Slam or any major tournament.

“And also enjoy the support and affection I have received in recent years, which has been incredible wherever I have gone, and I really enjoy that feeling.

“There are other reasons and motivations why I keep playing.

“But yes, there is also an internal debate within me, but I try to focus my thoughts and attention on this very present moment of what needs to be done, so I keep competing, and I might get a little more philosophical when the tournament ends, but I will try to focus on the next challenge here”.

The back discomfort, while appearing minor in New York, is part of a season in which Djokovic has battled a series of physical problems. At Wimbledon he suffered a hip injury after slipping in his quarter-final and then struggled against Jannik Sinner. In January he tore his hamstring against Carlos Alcaraz and later retired against Alexander Zverev in the Australian Open semi-finals.

When questioned specifically about his back he said: “Honestly, I don’t think I can do much more than what I’m doing know,” and highlighted the reality of biological age and wear and tear. Djokovic will next face Jan-Lennard Struff in the last 16.