The Spaniard beat a tricky Tommy Paul in straight sets. He now plays Shelton in the quarter final. Good win for Sabalenka, Pagula and Navarro. I’m enjoying this US Open.
US Open 2026: Alcaraz and Sabalenka March On as New York Reaches the Business End
Carlos Alcaraz dismantles Tommy Paul, Aryna Sabalenka solves the Taylor Townsend puzzle, and American hopes are very much alive as the US Open quarter-finals take shape.
The second week of the 2026 US Open is beginning to feel serious.
On Sunday in New York, two defending champions made emphatic statements. Carlos Alcaraz swept aside Tommy Paul in straight sets, while Aryna Sabalenka overcame the awkward challenge posed by Taylor Townsend to continue her pursuit of another title.
And around them, an impressive group of Americans ensured there will be plenty of home interest as the tournament moves into its quarter-final stage.
Alcaraz vs Paul: The champion shifts up a gear
There was plenty of reason to believe Tommy Paul could make this uncomfortable.
The American has troubled Alcaraz before, and his athleticism, clean ball-striking and willingness to attack make him exactly the sort of opponent who can turn a night on Arthur Ashe Stadium into a battle.
Instead, Alcaraz made it look remarkably straightforward.
The defending champion won 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, booking his fifth US Open quarter-final in only six appearances.
Paul competed. Alcaraz controlled.
That distinction told the story.
The Spaniard’s movement repeatedly allowed him to turn defensive positions into attacking ones, while his variety prevented Paul from establishing the rhythm he needed. When Alcaraz is combining explosive baseline hitting with touch and improvisation, opponents aren’t simply trying to beat his forehand — they’re trying to solve several different problems at once.
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There is also an interesting history between these two.
Paul won their first two recorded meetings, in Montreal in 2022 and Toronto in 2023. Alcaraz has now turned the rivalry around, winning their subsequent meetings at the 2024 Olympics, 2025 French Open, 2026 Australian Open and now the US Open.
More importantly, Alcaraz looks increasingly comfortable in New York.
His reward is a quarter-final against Ben Shelton, another American with enough firepower to turn Ashe into a very noisy place indeed.
For everyone else in the men’s draw, the message from Sunday was simple: the defending champion is accelerating.
Sabalenka vs Townsend: A tricky problem, solved
Aryna Sabalenka’s 6-4, 6-3 victory over Taylor Townsend looks routine on the scoreboard.
The match itself wasn’t.
Townsend’s left-handed game, willingness to attack the net and ability to change the geometry of rallies offered Sabalenka something very different from the baseline exchanges she normally dominates.
The opening stages illustrated the problem perfectly: the match began with five consecutive breaks of serve.
Townsend wanted disruption.
Sabalenka eventually imposed order.
The world No. 1 also had to recover from 3-1 down in the second set, adapting to Townsend’s net-rushing tactics before taking command.
That might actually make this victory more valuable than an easy blowout.
Sabalenka described the contest afterwards as the sort of challenge that strengthens belief — and that matters enormously in the second week of a major.
She has now reached the US Open quarter-finals for a sixth consecutive year, where she will meet Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova.
Sabalenka hasn’t dropped a set.
That is an ominous statistic for the rest of the field.
The American charge isn’t over
Paul and Townsend may be out, but American tennis had plenty to celebrate on Day Eight.
Five Americans advanced, with Frances Tiafoe producing arguably the headline home victory by defeating 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev 7-6(1), 6-4, 7-6(6).
Tiafoe’s relationship with Louis Armstrong Stadium has become one of the great subplots of this tournament. He is now 10-0 on Armstrong and heads into yet another US Open quarter-final.
Waiting for him is fellow American Alex Michelsen, who defeated Tomas Martin Etcheverry 7-6(6), 6-4, 6-4 and has remarkably reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final without losing a set.
That guarantees an American men’s semifinalist.
Meanwhile Shelton’s progress gives the home crowd another blockbuster to anticipate when he takes on Alcaraz.
On the women’s side, Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro also advanced on Sunday, adding further depth to an excellent day for the host nation.
US Open Round-up: Now the pressure changes
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The first week of a Grand Slam is about survival.
The second is about opportunity.
Alcaraz has survived without being dragged into a fifth set and now appears to be finding another level. Sabalenka has encountered different styles and keeps finding answers. Noskova arrives with the confidence of a Wimbledon champion, while the American contingent suddenly has genuine reasons to dream.
Tiafoe versus Michelsen guarantees home representation deep into the men’s tournament. Shelton gets the biggest possible stage against Alcaraz. And Sabalenka’s pursuit of another New York crown is about to face its sternest examination yet.
The field is shrinking.
The matches are getting bigger.
And at the US Open, that’s normally when the real drama begins.
Next up: Alcaraz vs Shelton, Sabalenka vs Noskova, and an all-American Tiafoe-Michelsen showdown — with places in the final four on the line.
