New York: Carlos Alcaraz, who is bidding to win his third straight US Open singles title, got the better of Jaime Faria 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 inside Arthur Ashe Stadium to enter the third round of the last major of the year.
The No. 3-seeded Spaniard returning from a four-month layoff due to a wrist injury was in familiar form in defeating the No. 72-ranked Portuguese player Faria, who recently beat American Ben Shelton in Cincinnati.
Alcaraz is bidding to become the first player to defend the US Open title since Roger Federer triumphed five times in a row from 2004 to 2008. The ATP No. 1 Club member is a two-time champion in New York, having won his first major crown there in 2022 before his 2025 triumph.
Earlier this year, Alcaraz became the youngest man in history to complete the Career Grand Slam at age 22. Alcaraz’s latest Flushing Meadows victory is his 26th main-draw win at the American Slam, his highest mark among the four majors.
Improving to 9-0 at the majors in 2026, Alcaraz next meets China’s Wu Yibing, who ousted James Duckworth 7-5, 6-3, 6-1. Alcaraz leads their Lexus ATP Head2Head series 1-0. Their lone meeting came in Shanghai in 2024.
Ben Shelton drew inspiration from the home crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium to fight past Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(3), 7-5.
The eighth seed, looking to become the first American winner of the final Grand Slam of the year since 2003, has come into the tournament on the back of a win in the Montreal Open.
Shelton will take on Canadian Dennis Shapovalov in the third round who beat Luca Van Assche 6-0 6-4 7-6.
Moreover, Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Lloyd Harris 6-7 6-3 7-6 6-4, Tommy Paul beat Dino Prižmic 6-2 6-3 5-7 6-4, Alexander Bublik beat Adrian Mannarino 6-3 6-1 6-1, Frances Tiafoe beat Rei Sakamoto 6-3 7-6 7-5, Jiri Lehecka beat Toby Samuel 6-4 6-2 6-4 to reach the third round. Agencies
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