Crisis averted as Carlos Alcaraz dodges medical timeout and dropping serve to seal fourth round US Open spot

Carlos Alcaraz averted a bit of a wobble on his end to seal his spot in the fourth round of the US Open. Leading by a set and a 4-1, Alcaraz lost serve for the first time and then had to call a medical time out.

Up to this point Alcaraz has been utterly imperious but he lost serve for the first time this week and was pulled into a battle. He landed awkwardly after a serve. The 22-year-old took an MTO to receive treatment at 5-4 on his right knee.

But he managed to regain his composure. He reeled off the following seven games to regain control and race through in nearly two hours. Alcaraz won his first major title at the 2022 US Open and remains on track to meet Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals. He awaits a fourtth round meeting with Benjamin Bonzi or Arthur Rinderknech.

Despite this lapse, Alcaraz was ruthless particularly on his forehand. In the second set, Darderi produced magic including an epic drop volley that caught Alcaraz out. He caught out Alcaraz with two break points converting the second. He is on the heels of Jannik Sinner not only for World No.1 and also a final meeting.

“I’m feeling good, it was just a precaution that I asked for the physio,” Alcaraz said. “When he broke my serve, in the last point I felt something in the knee, but after five or six points it was gone. I just asked the physio to take care of the knee, so I had to be feeling good. I am going to talk to my team about it, but I’m feeling good.”

He also had to get used to a new schedule. Ordinarily a proponent of the night schedule, Alcaraz isn't used to an early start on a day he plays and he said that also contributed to it but he said that he enjoyed that fact in the end.

“I just tried to start awake, that was important,” said Alcaraz. “Starting at 11:30 a.m. is not a schedule that I’m used to playing, so my first goal is to start well, to start focused. I think I started really well, pushing him to the limit, playing long rallies, and after that kept it going.

“I’m not a [morning] person. For me, it’s difficult to wake up in the mornings, so that’s a good thing today that I woke up early, I did the warmup well, played good... It seems like I’m a Spanish guy!"

Match Statistics Darderi vs. Alcaraz