Carlos Alcaraz initiated Tuesday’s quarterfinal contest at the US Open by seizing an early advantage on Jiří Lehečka’s serve.
He replicated this feat in the subsequent set. Additionally, he maintained complete control of his own service games, culminating in a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 triumph over the No. 20 seed Lehečka. This victory marked yet another dominant performance by Alcaraz, who has yet to concede a set across his five matches at the US Open.
With this result, the second-seeded Alcaraz progresses to Friday’s semifinal stage, where he will engage in a high-stakes encounter with a coveted spot in the US Open final as the prize. Alcaraz is slated to face the victor of Tuesday evening’s clash between No. 4 seed American Taylor Fritz and No. 7 seed and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.
[Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season]
Either contest would undoubtedly command the undivided attention of US Open spectators. Djokovic holds a 5-3 advantage over Alcaraz in their head-to-head record, encompassing four Grand Slam encounters. Djokovic emerged victorious against Alcaraz in the final of the 2024 Olympics. Conversely, Alcaraz has bested Djokovic twice in Grand Slam finals, both instances occurring at Wimbledon (2023, 2024).
Alcaraz boasts a 3-0 record against Fritz, including a semifinal victory at Wimbledon earlier this year. Fritz reached the US Open final in 2024 and continues to represent the nation’s foremost aspiration of securing its first men’s Grand Slam championship since Andy Roddick’s US Open triumph in 2003.
Regardless of his opponent, Alcaraz will be striving for his sixth Grand Slam title at the age of 22 and his second US Open crown, following his initial success in 2022. He enters Friday’s semifinal on a hot streak.
Alcaraz has now secured victories in each of his five US Open matches without dropping a set, with two of these wins coming against seeded players (No. 32 Luciano Darderi, third round). Remarkably, he has only conceded a single service game throughout the entire tournament.
Tuesday’s match mirrored this trend, as Alcaraz established an early advantage by securing breaks in each of the first two sets. After claiming the first set, he successfully thwarted Lehečka’s most promising attempt at a break in the second with an exceptional drop shot that initially appeared beyond his reach while trailing 30-15.
He mounted a comeback to win the point and establish a 4-2 lead. Subsequently, he broke Lehečka’s serve again to extend his lead to 5-2 before confidently serving out the set.
Lehečka managed to hold serve early in the third set. However, Alcaraz’s dominance proved inevitable. Alcaraz clinched his first break of the third set to seize a 5-4 lead and serve for the match. At that juncture, Alcaraz had triumphed in 67 out of 68 service games at the US Open.
He elevated it to 68 out of 69 while denying Lehečka any chance on match point.
