Night owl Alcaraz thrives
Five-times major winner Carlos Alcaraz is used to playing under the US Open's bright lights but thrived under the afternoon sun as he brushed aside injury concerns to beat Italy's Luciano Darderi 6-2, 6-4, 6-0.
Organisers typically save the Spanish second seed for the prime time evening slot but gave dayside ticket-holders a treat as they scheduled Alcaraz's third-round affair for the first match of the day on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
"It's just the second match that I played (at) 11:00 am or 11:30 am," he said. "I just went to bed at 11:00 pm, 11:15 pm. That for me is really weird, to be honest, which I am really proud about it."
Early bird Alcaraz had no apparent issues pushing his extraordinary run this season further - with a 42-2 record since April - and setting up a fourth-round meeting with Arthur Rinderknech of France.
"Every time that I step on the court, I'm just locked in since the first point until the last one," said Alcaraz, who unexpectedly exited in the second round a year ago.
"I'm taking last year as motivation coming into this year, be more hungry, ambitious to do great things here."
The 2022 champion took control of the first set immediately, breaking Darderi with a forehand winner in the second game and again on set point when his opponent hit the ball into the net.
Darderi had three double faults before dropping serve with a backhand error in the fourth game of the second set but found his competitive spirit when he broke back from the baseline in the seventh.
Alcaraz gave his legions of fans a brief fright as he took a medical timeout with the physio after the ninth game, telling the staff member that he had begun to feel something wrong with his right knee earlier in the set.
The concern was short-lived as Darderi committed another double-fault on set point and Alcaraz sprinted through the third set, later telling reporters he had only met with the physio as a precaution.
Alcaraz also quashed rumours that he went out for a meal with rival Jannik Sinner this week after photos of the duo at a New York restaurant set social media ablaze.
"It was a coincidence. We could have gone to have lunch or to eat together but it was just a coincidence," he said.
"It wouldn't be weird if we go together to have dinner, so probably one day."
Djokovic beats back issue to blast past Norrie
Novak Djokovic stayed in the hunt for a record 25th Grand Slam trophy on Friday by quickly recovering from a lower back problem to beat unseeded Briton Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-3 and reach the fourth round of the US Open.
The 38-year-old's battling victory under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium made him the oldest man to reach the last 16 at Flushing Meadows since American Jimmy Connors managed the feat at the same age in 1991.
Already the holder of the most Grand Slam titles (24) and match wins (395), Djokovic reached another milestone by surpassing Swiss maestro Roger Federer to become the man with the most hardcourt victories at the majors with his 192nd win.
The four-times New York winner also improved his record against Norrie to 7-0.
"I guess coming into the match, any match, you really want to win in straight sets without any drama and just ease through, but that's not possible," said Djokovic, who is playing in his first event since losing to Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon last month.
"My team wants me to suffer on the court so I can get some more minutes spent in match play. It's good that I get tested. I hadn't played any matches since Wimbledon and it's been for us quite a long time, five to six weeks.
"I'm still trying to find my groove and my rhythm on court," added the Serb, who said Friday's performance was an improvement on his first two matches.
Djokovic wasted no time in heaping the pressure on Norrie and broke for a 4-3 lead with a forehand winner before launching the ninth of his 18 aces during the contest in the following game to consolidate his early advantage.
"I think it was probably the best serving performance of the tournament," Djokovic added.
"So of course I'm glad. It's probably one of the most, if not the most important shot in the game. Yeah, I'm glad how I executed that shot."
Djokovic then began to feel the effects of a back problem after going up 5-4 and received treatment off the court before returning to serve out the opening set.
He called for more medical attention three games into the next set and his first-serve speed briefly dipped following that break in play.
However, he started to fire on all cylinders again and went toe-to-toe with Norrie, who had to fight back from a two-point deficit early in the tiebreak to go level in the match.
A sublime drop shot helped Norrie break in the opening game of the third set but Djokovic struck back to win three straight games, pausing along the way to bark at someone in the Arthur Ashe Stadium stands to stay quiet.
Djokovic continued to reassert himself from there, closing out the set comfortably and fully hitting his stride in the fourth to maintain his 100% record against Norrie and book a meeting with Jan-Lennard Struff.
"You have some ups and downs. I guess you don't want to reveal too much (about the injury) to the rivals listening and watching," Djokovic added.
"I'm good, man. I'm as young as ever and strong as ever."
American hopes suffer blow
Sixth seed Ben Shelton retired from his US Open third-round meeting with Frenchman Adrian Mannarino on Friday before 17th seed Frances Tiafoe was also knocked out in a massive blow to American hopes of ending their 22-year wait for a men's Grand Slam champion.
Shelton grabbed his left shoulder and winced in pain after hitting a forehand early in the fourth set in a tight clash on Louis Armstrong Stadium and pinched at the spot as he prepared to receive a serve from Mannarino in the second game.
"I just did something to my shoulder I don't know what it is. I'm in a lot of pain," Shelton said to his father and coach, Bryan Shelton, before taking a medical timeout midway through the second game in the fourth set.
Shelton later added to his father that it was the "worst pain" he had felt in his life, before meeting with the physio again, but found himself on an even footing with left-hander Mannarino who produced some moments of magic.
Shelton, tipped as a possible contender to become the first American man to prevail at Flushing Meadows since Andy Roddick's 2003 triumph, looked dejected at the break and shed tears into his towel before he pulled out to gasps from the home crowd.
"When he started having pain, he was leading in the match," said Mannarino, who rallied from a set down to draw level at 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 when the match was abandoned.
"He probably would have won. It's unfortunate for him and very lucky for me. I don't really know what to say right now. I suppose I'm happy to get through. I wish him the best."
"I was having good fun on the court there were some long rallies. I lost some of them, won some of them. It was fun to play. Ben's such an amazing player, it was a great match.
"I was enjoying my time on court, even if I was losing."
American fans were left to swallow another bitter pill around an hour later when Tiafoe, who last failed to reach the Flushing Meadows fourth round in 2019, crashed to a 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(7) defeat by Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff on Grandstand.
Struff regained his composure after a flurry of double faults towards the end of the contest to send out last year's semi-finalist.
"I think everybody knows sometimes it's tough to serve out the match," Struff said.
"I tried to stay calm and tried to refocus and I managed to get some energy back so I was very happy about that."
The result left Taylor Fritz as the main hope of the home nation at the year's final Grand Slam. The fourth seed who was runner-up last year will take on Jerome Kym later on Friday.
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