Djokovic makes Grand Slam history
Novak Djokovic made history at the age of 38 on Sunday after his 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Jan-Lennard Struff in the last 16 of the US Open saw him become the oldest man to reach the quarter-finals at all four Grand Slams in a single season.
The victory also moves Djokovic into his 64th Grand Slam quarter-final, extending his all-time record, and keeps alive his pursuit of a record 25th major title.
Djokovic dominated from the opening game, breaking the 35-year-old German's serve six times during the 109-minute match.
"I don't know how many more I'm going to have, so obviously each one is very special and I want to thank all you guys for being present here tonight," Djokovic said after the victory at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Struff, ranked number 144 in the world, had defeated two seeded players to reach his first US Open fourth round but was unable to put any serious pressure on the seventh seed.
Struff leaves the tournament with the second-highest ace count in the men's draw at 66 but he landed less than half of his first serves in the match and with his most potent weapon misfiring, Djokovic duly prospered.
The four-times Flushing Meadows champion was near untouchable on serve, firing 12 aces while winning 79% of first-serve points.
"It definitely helps if you serve well. I think I had a great serving performance in the last round and also tonight," said Djokovic.
"I just saw the stats, I out-served one of the guys that had the most aces during the tournament this year, so that's a great stat. Obviously, that helps make my life easier on the court."
Djokovic, who required some treatment from the physio on his right shoulder and forearm during the match, next faces American Taylor Fritz.
Alcaraz dances into US Open quarters
Second seed Carlos Alcaraz put on a show for the crowd with a convincing 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-4 win over France's Arthur Rinderknech in the US Open fourth round on Sunday, in his latest demolition job on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Alcaraz gave fans a fright with a medical timeout due to knee pain in the third round but had no issues on Sunday, zipping around the court in the daytime match to extinguish his opponent's hopes with 36 winners and just 11 unforced errors.
He will next play Czech 20th seed Jiri Lehecka.
"The energy is special playing the day session, playing the night session, it doesn't matter," said the five-times major winner. "That's why I just play my best tennis here in New York."
The 2022 champion got the crowd on his side with a behind-the-back shot in the fourth game and put his foot on the gas to pull away in the tiebreak with a pair of exquisite forehand winners and an unreturnable serve.
Alcaraz has yet to drop a set in New York this year and took the opener on Sunday as Rinderknech sent one beyond the baseline on set point.
The Spaniard sent another forehand winner down the line and placed a perfect drop shot before clinching the break with an overhead smash in the sixth game of the second set and saved both break points he faced in the seventh.
His nifty net play helped him break in the ninth game of the third set, before he closed it out with an unreturnable serve on match point.
Alcaraz has been on an extraordinary run this season, claiming an ATP-leading six titles with only six defeats.
His next opponent, the 21st-ranked Lehecka, is one of the rare few who have managed to crack the code this year, handing Alcaraz one of those six losses in the Doha quarter-final in February.
The Spaniard got his revenge only months later, beating Lehecka in the Queen's Club final, but said he would not take the challenge for granted.
"I struggle every time that I played against him. There is no doubt about it. That means really how difficult it is to play against him," he told reporters.
"I gotta see what I did good, what I did bad in those matches, just to be ready and to be perfect in the quarter-final."
Fritz eases into quarter-finals
American Taylor Fritz kept the Stars and Stripes fluttering at the US Open on Sunday by swatting aside Czech Republic's 21st seed Tomas Machac 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 to book his spot in the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam for the third consecutive year.
Last year's runner-up Fritz is the sole American man left from the 23 who began the main draw and also the nation's last hope of ending a 22-year major drought since Andy Roddick held aloft the sterling silver trophy at Flushing Meadows in 2003.
"It's been a tough week for the guys," said Fritz.
"I wasn't expecting that. I felt really good about our chances this week. I'm happy to be here and happy to be the last one standing. Hopefully the crowd will get behind me and will me through it."
The 27-year-old went toe-to-toe with Machac in the opening set, which he clinched with a break in the 10th game after the Czech hit a backhand wide, and dialled up the intensity in the eighth game of the next set at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
A second break handed Fritz the advantage and he quickly doubled his lead in the encounter with a near-flawless service game, leaving his jolted opponent facing a daunting task to reach his maiden major quarter-final.
"I had some battles in the last couple of matches," Fritz added. "I felt very dialled in tonight ... solid, aggressive at the right times."
The writing was on the wall when Fritz fired a swerving ace down the 'T' to go 3-1 up in the third set, and the fourth seed held firm to book a last-eight clash with 24-times Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.
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