Carlos Alcaraz dismissed concern after requesting a medical timeout during his third-round match at the US Open, saying the stop was purely preventive. The Spaniard defeated Lucas Darderi 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 to reach the last 32 at the New York event for the fourth time.

Mid-way through the second set Alcaraz appeared to feel his knee following what looked like an awkward service landing and signalled to his team. He asked the umpire for a medical timeout at the next changeover and received treatment from the physio before returning to the court.

Alcaraz closed the match strongly, breaking at 5-4 and winning the final seven games against Darderi.

“I’m feeling good,” Alcaraz clarified, during his post-match interview.

“It was just a precaution.

“I asked for the physio. I felt something that was not good in the knee, but after five or six points, it was gone.

“I just asked for the physio to take care of the knee because there was one serve left [in the second set] and I had to be ready, had to be good, had to feel good physically.

“It was a precaution. I will talk with my team but I’m not worried about it.”

The match was Alcaraz’s first day session at this year’s US Open, starting at 11:30AM. He arrived at the match in strong form, having won 33 of his last 34 matches and not dropping a set at the US Open so far.

“I tried to stay awake,” Alcaraz joked.

“That was important.

“We started at 11:30 so it’s good that I managed to play [my game]. My first goal was to start well, to start focused, with energy and a good rhythm, and I think I started pretty well. I pushed him to the limit.

“Tried to play long rallies and get a rhythm with the serve and return.

“And after that I just kept it going. Today I played such great tennis. It was such a great performance and I’m really proud about it.

“I’m not an early person so for me it’s difficult to wake up in the morning. That was one of the good things about today. I woke up early, did my warm up. Played good.”

Alcaraz will face Arthur Rinderknech in the fourth round. Rinderknech recently defeated world No 3 Alexander Zverev in the first round of Wimbledon and then endured a five-set battle with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in his second round match in New York.

Apostolos Tsitsipas, coach and father of world No 28 Stefanos Tsitsipas, has pushed back against public criticism from Goran Ivanisevic while reaffirming his belief that his son can still reach the sport’s highest levels.

Following Stefanos Tsitsipas’s second-round defeat at the French Open to Matteo Gigante, Ivanisevic was hired to join the team for the grass-court season. That collaboration lasted just two tournaments and unraveled after a first-round Wimbledon retirement to Valentin Royer, attributed to an apparent back issue. Shortly after, Ivanisevic made sharp public comments:

“[Tsitsipas ] wasn’t mentally or physically prepared at Wimbledon. Back problems, a million problems. I am three times fitter.”

The split was soon followed by the return of Apostolos to the coaching team after a prolonged absence. On the eve of the US Open he addressed Ivanisevic’s approach to airing concerns publicly. “I didn’t like that he expressed his opinions publicly,” Tsitsipas’ father admitted, in a pre-US Open interview with Clay Tenis .

He expanded on how such matters should have been handled:

“Probably Goran saw something he didn’t like. He should have identified it at the beginning of their professional relationship with Stefanos and discussed it personally with Stefanos and his team and tell him what he wants from him.

“Goran is a professional, I’m sure he has his own ideas, how to make things working, but definitely he should have done it personally with Stefanos.

“It’s interesting for the public to know about all these things, but the most important [thing] for the people is to see Stefanos playing good tennis.

“And the responsible about that are the members of his team. We are teachers. Coaches must create the right environment for the player to develop.”

Results have been difficult since the reconciliation. Tsitsipas has lost seven of his last 10 matches, including a second-round US Open loss to Daniel Altmaier, 7-6(5), 1-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, leaving him without a third-round appearance at any Grand Slam in 2025.

Still, Apostolos remained optimistic: “The sky is the limit,” he added. “Every player have to dream big and have high goals, but also be careful not to live too much in the future.

“They need to stay present, execute, and keep their goals in mind while being fully involved in daily work.

On his physicality, he said: It’s good. I’m sure It can always be better, but you can’t measure these things exactly.

“It’s good (physically). I’m sure It can always be better, but you can’t measure these things exactly. Players have peaks, then they go a bit down. It’s not always flat.

“Right now, he is at his peak I believe. He can compete here, he should be ready because it’s a Grand Slam. We did everything we could.

“Of course, you can always add things, but tennis is not only physical, it’s also mental.”

At 18, Max Schoenhaus has established himself as one of Germany’s most watched prospects. Born in Soest and now based in the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region, he trains under Björn Simon, Lukas Storck and Hannes Heyder, splitting his work between the Hessian Tennis Federation in Offenbach and SC 1880 Frankfurt.

Schoenhaus’s junior résumé includes a Wimbledon boys’ doubles title in 2024 and a run to the Roland Garros boys singles final the following year, where he fell to compatriot Niels McDonald. “Of course it was disappointing to lose the final,” Schoenhaus reflects. “But we both felt that we had achieved something for German tennis.” That meeting marked the first time two German players contested a Roland Garros final.

The move toward the professional ranks is deliberate. Last week at the Schwaben Open in Augsburg he recorded his first ATP Challenger Tour victory when opponent and friend Jakub Nicod retired in the third set. “It’s not the way you want to win a match,” Schoenhaus admitted. He is candid about the adjustment: “My focus so far has been on the junior tour, and I don’t have much experience on the pro circuit yet. Of course, getting a wildcard to play here is fantastic, but a little bit of nervousness comes with it. That’s normal.”

I’ve been working hard for this. Sure, there’s some pressure to perform, but our whole generation is strong, and we push each other.

Schoenhaus is part of a new cohort of German teenagers staking claims on the international stage, though he prefers process over short-term metrics. “If you work on the right things every day, the results will come naturally.” Off court he stays grounded: family time with his niece and nephews, rounds of golf to unwind and memories from training stints at IMG Academy in Florida. He also appreciates Italy and its coffee culture. “I’m a big coffee fan and I enjoy a good espresso.”

On court he defines his approach as aggressive and rhythm-focused. “I try to control the rhythm of the rallies. I love being the one dictating the tempo and mixing in different variations.” He takes pride in his one-handed backhand. “It gives you more options, feels more natural, and offers greater variety. You can hit with heavier spin or carve a deep slice – and sometimes, you even run a little less,” he laughs. His role model is Lorenzo Musetti.