Carlos Alcaraz Dominates Tommy Paul at US Open
Carlos Alcaraz barely broke stride. One more opponent brushed aside, one more step taken towards a slice of history that is starting to feel inevitable.
On a humid night at Flushing Meadows, the defending US Open champion dismantled Tommy Paul 6-4 6-3 6-4, a straight-sets win that looked as routine as the stakes were enormous. The wrist that kept him out for more than four months might as well belong to someone else. His game, his swagger, his authority on this court – all intact.
Alcaraz is already the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam. Now the 23-year-old is chasing something no man has managed in the Open Era: successfully defending major titles on all three surfaces. He has already gone back-to-back at Wimbledon on grass in 2023 and 2024, and at Roland Garros on clay in 2023 and 2024. If he keeps this pace and lifts the trophy again in New York next Sunday, the hard courts will complete a truly outrageous set.
Tommy Paul arrived believing he had a shot. The 20th seed said beforehand he “always thinks” he can beat the very best. Belief is one thing. Living with Alcaraz in this mood is another.
The American never found a way through. The numbers are brutal: Alcaraz has now beaten Paul six times in a row, taking the last 14 sets between them. Even when the match finally offered Paul a glimmer – two set points late in the third – Alcaraz simply crushed them with backhanded disdain, firing two ferocious forehand winners and closing the door in two hours and 21 minutes.
“I played my game. I tried to put my style on today's match,” Alcaraz said afterwards, the message as simple as his tennis is complex. He knew exactly what Paul could bring. “Tommy is such a talented player and his shots are dangerous and hard to control, so I just tried to be ready for the battle, ready to run if it mattered.”
The battle never truly arrived. The running did – it always does with Alcaraz – but it was on his terms. He stepped inside the baseline, ripped through forehands, and squeezed Paul in the return games.
“I tried to be aggressive all the time and tried not to let him stay on the court,” he explained. “I put so much pressure on the return game. It helped a lot to play relaxed, calm and to think clearly.
“I'm really happy with the performance today. Am I back to full power? I think so. I play well every time I come here, and I just try to enjoy it. It doesn't matter I was out for four-and-a-half months; every time I come here I play my best.”
From the commentary box, the admiration bordered on awe. Tim Henman watched Alcaraz change tempo and angles at will and sounded almost grateful to be there.
“It's a pleasure to watch Alcaraz go through the gears. He's just got better and better as this tournament has gone on,” the Sky Sports Tennis analyst said. “Tommy Paul gave it everything he had but, at the end of the day, Alcaraz was different class.
“The forehand was firing. I've seen plenty of good forehands over the years, but I think Alcaraz's might be the best. It's unbelievable how he hits it so hard and doesn't look like missing.”
Martina Navratilova went even further. She has seen prodigies come and go. This, she suggested, is something else.
“It's really crazy he got this good this fast,” she said. “Normally, when people have that many options to their game, it takes a while to figure out how to play the game. But not Carlos, he's just in another stratosphere.”
On this evidence, it is hard to argue. The draw will stiffen, the pressure will rise, but Alcaraz is moving through this US Open like a man chasing not just titles, but a legacy that outpaces his age.
Sabalenka survives chaotic Townsend test
If Alcaraz’s win felt inevitable, Aryna Sabalenka’s progress was anything but smooth. It was wild, scrappy, tense – and exactly the kind of match a defending champion simply has to win.
Sabalenka beat Taylor Townsend 6-4 6-3 on Arthur Ashe Stadium in a match that swung like a pendulum and produced 11 breaks of serve in just 19 games. It was not polished, but it was enough to keep two precious things alive: her US Open title defence and her grip on the world No 1 ranking.
The equation at the top is clear. Sabalenka has spent 99 weeks at No 1. To make it 100, she must win a third straight US Open and hope current No 2 Elena Rybakina falls before the semi-finals. The pressure is obvious. So were the nerves.
Townsend, roared on by the home crowd, broke Sabalenka in the second set and threatened to drag the match into dangerous territory. That was the moment the Belarusian snapped into a higher gear.
“It's super challenging but once again it's important to focus on yourself,” Sabalenka said. “I was like 'okay, you are down the break, just try to return the serve and put as much pressure on her as possible'.”
“I was just trying to stay focused on myself, not only point by point but ball by ball. I'm happy I was able to turn around the second set, I think it was a key moment.”
She clawed back the break, roared, and suddenly the body language flipped. Townsend kept attacking, kept charging the net, but Sabalenka’s power and passing shots began to bite. The finish was decisive, even if the path there was anything but.
Navratilova’s verdict was measured. “It was good enough. It was pretty solid,” she said. “Townsend had more winners but Aryna did really well returning serve and with passing shots.
“Townsend tried to come into the net more, but she wasn't successful there, that's how well Sabalenka played from the baseline.
“Overall, I would give Sabalenka a 'B' because she lost her serve so many times, but she played really well when it mattered.”
Annabel Croft saw something else: a show, and a showwoman who understands the stage.
“There was a lot of ferocious intensity to what Sabalenka brought onto this court,” Croft said. “When she went a break down in the second set, she really galvanised herself. When she got back on track, she let out the most enormous shriek and you just knew she meant business.
“The passion, the aura, the mentality, the personality, she brings so much to every court. She's a great showwoman and puts on a show whenever she plays tennis. She understands this isn't just sport, it's entertainment as well.
“She is going to take some beating. She doesn't look as vulnerable as I was expecting. So far, she hasn't dropped a set and looks in very good shape.”
Her next test will come against Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova, who survived a marathon of her own. In a gripping repeat of their SW19 semi-final, the Czech edged Marta Kostyuk 7-5 5-7 6-4, finally closing it out after the Ukrainian saved five match points – two at the end of the second set and three more in the decider.
Noskova arrives battle-hardened. Sabalenka arrives unblemished in sets, if not in service games. One is grinding, one is blasting, and both know exactly what is at stake on these hard courts as New York’s fortnight moves towards its sharp end.
