The 142nd edition of the US Open crowned a new champion in Carlos Alcaraz and the young Spaniard has climbed to the summit of the world rankings. Insight into Alcaraz becoming a Grand Slam champion and the youngest world number one at just 19 years of age: https://www.365scores.com/news/king-carlos-on-top-of-the-world/
Six of the top 10 men's seeds were eliminated by the quarter-finals, paving the way for two emerging stars to battle it out for a maiden Slam title. Top seed Daniil Medvedev and second seed Rafael Nadal each lost in the Round of 16, while sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime fell in the 2nd round and fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas crashed out in the opening round of the tournament.
The Round of 16 served up a storm as Nadal bowed out to local favourite Frances Tiafoe, and hothead Nick Kyrgios disposed of Medvedev – both by three sets to one. Of the eight matches in this round, four were decided in five sets and three of them in four sets. Andrey Rublev was the only player to advance from the Round of 16 in straight sets.
In the quarter-finals, Tiafoe cruised past ninth seed Rublev in straight sets and Kyrgios fell to Karen Khachanov. Ruud beat Matteo Berrettini in straight sets meanwhile Alcaraz went the distance with Jannik Sinner, as the two youngsters produced an explosive five-set encounter which lasted more than five hours (ending on the brink of 3AM in New York City) with the contest 11 minutes shy of becoming the longest match in US Open history.
In the semis, Ruud overcame Khachanov rather comfortably despite dropping a set to the Russian national. The corresponding last-four clash was a blockbuster affair as Alcaraz came from a set down to defeat a courageous and upbeat Tiafoe in another five-set thriller.
In the women’s draw, six of the top 10 seeds lost before the Round of 16, as did defending champion Emma Raducanu who was dumped out in the 1st round. 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams lost in the third round in what is likely to be her final tournament in professional tennis.
Ons Jabeur dropped a single set in six matches on her way to the final, while top seed Iga Świątek conceded two sets on the road to Saturday's main event. The final was one-way traffic for the most part as world number one Świątek claimed a third Slam title – her first at the US Open – with a straight sets win [6-2, 7-6] over Jabeur.
The sheer occasion may have taken its toll on Jabeur as the fifth seed produced a total 61 unforced errors and four double faults in the championship match. The Tunisian failed to serve any aces, won half of her 10 service games and she converted just five out of 12 break points.
Świątek, 21, capitalised on Jabeur's off day to cement her grip on top spot in the WTA rankings and there is surely much more to come from the Polish star.
In the WTA rankings, Jabeur has risen from 5th up to 2nd, Jessica Pegula is up three spots to 5th, and 18-year-old Coco Gauff climbs four places to reach a career-high ranking of 8th.
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