US Open tennis: Djokovic stuns with latest record, Alcaraz into fourth round, American duo bundled out

The 38-year-old Djokovic earned a record 192nd Grand Slam match win on hard courts as he defeated Norrie 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 6-2, 6-3, staying in the hunt for an unprecedented 25th major title.

Earlier, the break out Aussie star of the US Open thus far, giant-killer Priscilla Hon went down in straight sets to American Ann Li, 7-5, 6-3.

“Coming into any match you really want to win in straight sets without any drama but obviously that’s not possible,” said Djokovic.

“It’s good that I get tested. I obviously haven’t had any matches since Wimbledon.

“I’m still trying to find my rhythm and my groove on the court.” Djokovic has now defeated Norrie in all seven of their meetings and is through to the fourth round in New York for the 16th time in his career.

On Sunday he will play German veteran Jan-Lennard Struff, who has already knocked out two seeds in Holger Rune and Frances Tiafoe.

A lone break of Norrie’s serve in the seventh game was enough for Djokovic to pocket the opening set, but not before he summoned the physio to work on his lower back.

The Serbian star headed off court for a medical time-out and returned to serve out the first set.

“It’s all right, you have some ups and downs. You don’t want to reveal too much to the rivals listening,” said a grinning Djokovic, refusing to elaborate on the nature of his back issue.

He had the chance to make further inroads in the second set but Norrie saved three break points and then pinched the tie-break from his smouldering rival who double-faulted on set point.

Norrie took that momentum into the third set with an early break, drawing an emphatic response from Djokovic as he responded by winning four straight games.

Djokovic soon made the set his and another break to start the fourth set gave him the cushion required to close out a milestone victory.

ALCARAZ SURGES INTO SECOND WEEK

Carlos Alcaraz surged into the fourth round of the US Open on Friday as American hopes of ending the country’s 22-year wait for a men’s champion suffered a blow with the exits of Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe.

Spanish second seed Alcaraz breezed past Italian 32nd seed Luciano Darderi in emphatic fashion, winning 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 on the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Alcaraz’s one hour 44-minute victory sends the 2022 US Open champion into a meeting on Sunday against France’s Arthur Rinderknech, who defeated compatriot Benjamin Bonzi 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2.

Alcaraz is aiming to finish the season on a high after winning the French Open in June before losing in the final of Wimbledon last month.

The five-time Grand Slam singles champion opened play on the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center’s main court, and admitted he had been nervous about his 11:30am local time start.

“I’m not an early morning person so it’s difficult for me to wake up in the morning,” Alcaraz said. “One of the good things today though I woke up early, did the warm up and felt good.

“Starting at 11:30 my first goal is to start well with a good energy and rhythm. I played great tennis, good performance so I’m proud of that.” Alcaraz needed a medical time-out while leading 5-4 in the second set for treatment on his right knee, but later said he had no injury concerns.

But while Alcaraz was able to shrug off his knee issue, a shoulder injury scuppered Shelton’s hopes of becoming the first American man to win the US Open since Andy Roddick in 2003.

The big-serving Shelton, a semi-finalist at Flushing Meadows in 2023, departed the Louis Armstrong Stadium court in tears after being forced to retire at the end of the fourth set of his match against French veteran Adrian Mannarino.

Shelton, 22, was leading 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 but clutched his shoulder in pain early in the fourth set and called a medical time-out. He recovered but retired after Mannarino took the fourth set.

“I’m not a guy who would retire if I could continue,” said a dejected Shelton. Shelton’s exit was followed by compatriot Tiafoe, the 17th seed who lost 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (9/7) to German veteran Jan-Lennard Struff.

“I don’t know how to recover from this, to be honest with you,” Tiafoe said. “I haven’t been this down in a very, very long time.” Later

In other men’s draw action, Czech 20th seed Jiri Lehecka sailed into the next round with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Belgium’s Raphael Collignon.

In the women’s draw, meanwhile, world number one and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka faces Canada’s 31st seed Leylah Fernandez in a night game on the Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Fernandez reached the final of the US Open in 2021, where she was beaten by Britain’s Emma Raducanu -- the only player in history ever to win a Grand Slam singles title after emerging through qualifying.

Raducanu’s hopes of another fairytale run in New York came to a juddering halt on Friday when she was steamrollered in straight sets by Kazakh ninth seed Elena Rybakina, losing 6-1, 6-2.

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Rybakina will face 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the fourth round after the Czech ousted Italian seventh seed Jasmine Paolini 7-6 (7/4), 6-1.

In other women’s draw matches, American fourth seed Jessica Pegula comfortably defeated Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 7-5 to reach the fourth round, where she will face compatriot Ann Li.

Belgian 19th seed Elise Mertens, a two-time US Open quarter-finalist, meanwhile exited in three sets, upset by Spain’s Cristina Bucsa 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.