Alex Eala has revealed the player she is backing for the women’s singles title at the 2026 US Open after her own run at Flushing Meadows came to an end.

The world No 18 fell 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 to 14th-ranked Iva Jovic in a gripping third-round match at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday night. It was a hard-fought contest that lasted three hours and left Eala reflecting on both her progress and the margins that separated the two players.

Eala had opened her New York campaign with a commanding 6-1, 6-2 win over Mary Stoiana before moving past Oleksandra Oliynykova 6-1, 6-4 in the second round. Her defeat to Jovic brought a stop to a promising sequence, but she was measured in her assessment afterward.

In her press conference after her US Open exit, Eala said: “I do think I have grown as a player since the last time we played each other.

“And I definitely think I had my chances in this match. I was able to set myself up for some opportunities, which was great.

“I’m happy with the match. Of course, there’s disappointment in losing, but I’m trying to see the positive side.

“The level in this match was really high. It was a really good match, and congrats to Iva for pushing through.”

The 21-year-old Filipina later appeared on CBS News and said she would like to see Coco Gauff lift the trophy for a second time in New York.

“It’s very difficult to choose. I think it’s a very highly stacked draw at this point, but it always is in the quarters,” Eala said.

“I have to say, though, I am rooting for Coco [Gauff]. Last night was really good. I did watch her and Iva.

“Both played amazingly, but yeah, I think Coco has been on such a good run recently, and she’s a friend of mine.

“More than anything, what I look up to Coco for is her grit and the mentality she has.

“Of course, she’s a beast, she’s physically amazing, she’s got great shots, so much power, but yeah, I love her mentality.”

Eala would have met Gauff in the last 16 had she beaten Jovic. Gauff, ranked world No 4, won her first Grand Slam title at the 2023 US Open and added her second major at the 2025 French Open. She will next face world No 5 and reigning French Open champion Mirra Andreeva in the quarter-finals.

Alex Michelsen has moved into striking distance of a personal milestone at the US Open, where he is chasing a first Grand Slam semi-final.

The 22-year-old has advanced to the quarter-finals after a composed run that included straight-sets wins over Federico Cina, 16th seed Brandon Nakashima, Daniel Merida and 27th seed Tomas Martin Etecheverry. Each victory has added to the sense that the unseeded American is building something substantial in New York.

Michelsen, who was born in Aliso Viejo in southern Orange County, California, is only a step away from matching or bettering his career peak of No. 30. In the live ATP Rankings, the 6ft 4in player sits at No. 33, with ambitions that extend well beyond that. Whether he says them openly or not, the top 20, the top 10 and a major title remain part of the picture.

After his latest win, he offered a measured assessment of his progress, saying, “I’m doing everything pretty good, really happy. Really happy, but not really surprised after putting in all the hard work. I don’t have too many expectations on myself. I like to be a little more under the radar.”

His path to this stage has deep roots. He began playing at the age of three, with both parents having played college tennis, and his mother remains his biggest inspiration. As a junior, he reached the boys’ doubles final at the 2022 Australian Open, then won both singles and doubles at the Easter Bowl later that season. He also took the junior doubles title at Wimbledon in 2022 before turning professional.

Since then, Michelsen has collected an ITF title, a Challenger crown and reached an ATP final in Newport. He later earned his first top 10 win over Alex de Minaur in Los Cabos in 2024. He now enters Tuesday’s last-eight meeting with Frances Tiafoe still searching for a first ATP Tour title, but with his biggest opportunity yet unfolding at Flushing Meadows.

Alexander Zverev advanced to the US Open quarter-finals with a straight-sets victory over Luciano Darderi, then turned his attention to the timing of his matches rather than the result alone.

The top seed beat the Italian 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (3) in their fourth-round meeting on Monday night. Darderi, the 21st seed, pushed harder as the match went on, but Zverev had already established control by then and closed out the contest in the third-set tiebreak.

It was another efficient performance for the French Open champion, who began the tournament with two five-set battles that both finished around 2am. Since then, he has moved through the last two rounds in more routine fashion. Even so, one theme has stayed constant across his campaign: he has played the final match on the tournament’s main show court every time.

That pattern led Zverev to joke about his relationship with the arena, saying he felt as if he were only renting it for the late hours. He also used his on-court interview to acknowledge Roger Federer and Pete Sampras, both of whom enjoyed remarkable success at the venue.

Looking ahead to his quarter-final against unseeded Botic van de Zandschulp later this week, Zverev made clear that he would welcome another night assignment. With the event moving deeper into the draw and fewer matches left, the night-session format will no longer be available in the same way, but he still intends to ask the organisers for the same scheduling.

He said in his on-court interview, “I don’t know what to do with myself because it’s before midnight. I might go back to the practice court, I might go out to a bar; I don’t know yet. Unfortunately, that was a joke; relax!”

He continued, “Unfortunately, we don’t have enough matches anymore, so I can’t play a second-night match, but I’ll request a night match for sure.

“You know how players sometimes go around saying, ‘This is my court’ when they win a great point. This is not my court at all.

“Roger Federer won here 78 times, Pete Sampras won here 112 times, but I feel like I rented this court out from 11pm to 2am for two weeks, so I hope they are going to continue putting me in the same time.”