NEW YORK :Former champion Carlos Alcaraz continued his imperious march at the U.S. Open by reaching the semi-finals on Tuesday and staying on course for a potentially high-voltage showdown with 24-times Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic.
The second-seeded Spaniard produced yet another clinical display to beat Czech 20th seed Jiri Lehecka 6-4 6-2 6-4 in the quarter-finals at a sunbathed Arthur Ashe Stadium and secured his spot in the last four without dropping a set this year.
In the women’s draw, defending champion and world number one Aryna Sabalenka received a walkover following Marketa Vondrousova’s withdrawal, and she will now face American Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals.
The 22-year-old Alcaraz, who is chasing his first hardcourt Grand Slam title since his 2022 triumph at Flushing Meadows and sixth overall, will await the winner of the evening session encounter between Djokovic and local hope Taylor Fritz.
If Djokovic gets to the semi-final, he will arrive with a 5-3 win-loss record against Alcaraz having beaten him in their last two clashes – in the Australian Open quarter-finals this year and last year’s Paris Olympics final.
Alcaraz can take the world number one ranking from Jannik Sinner if he emerges triumphant in New York at the end of the fortnight, but is trying not to think about that at this stage.
“If I think about the world number one spot too much, I’m going to put pressure on myself and I don’t want to do that,” Alcaraz said.
“I just want to step on court, try to do my things, follow my goals and try to enjoy as much as I can.”
PERFECT RUN
While his rivalry with Alcaraz is close, Djokovic has not lost a match in 10 meetings with Fritz and the Serb will try to keep his perfect run going against the American in the final match of the evening on the main showcourt.
The 38-year-old has lost some of his fire – failing to make a Grand Slam final all year – but his desire to win a 25th major title and go past Margaret Court still burns at the tournament where he has hoisted the trophy four times previously.
Fourth seed Fritz is the home fans’ only remaining hope to end a 22-year American men’s drought at the U.S. Open, a year after he came up short in the final to Italian Jannik Sinner.
In the afternoon, 45-year-old Venus Williams will look to continue her impressive women’s doubles run at Louis Armstrong Stadium with 22-year-old Canadian partner Leylah Fernandez.
The pair face a formidable task against Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic and Taylor Townsend of the United States, who won the Australian Open earlier this year.
Sabalenka moved into the semi-finals as Vondrousova was forced to withdraw from their last eight showdown due to a knee injury.
Vondrousova, Wimbledon champion in 2023, had dazzled in New York with upset victories over seventh seed Jasmine Paolini and ninth seed Elena Rybakina.
But injury again derailed the 26-year-old, who has endured lengthy spells on the sidelines in recent years. She was one of three Czech women to make the Flushing Meadows quarter-finals.
Sabalenka, who had defeated the 60th-ranked Czech in their most recent clash in the Cincinnati second round last month, now meets Pegula in a rematch of last year’s final.
American Pegula dispatched Czech twice Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejcikova 6-3 6-3 to get the day’s action underway.
