US Open: Carlos Alcaraz equals Rafael Nadal’s 17-year-old feat with win over Jannik Sinner
Third seed Carlos Alcaraz recovered from a break down in the fourth set and fifth sets to register victory in the quarterfinal encounter of the US Open 2022.
Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz had to dig deep against Jannik Sinner to reach his first grand slam semi-final at the US Open 2022. The five set marathon saw Alcaraz winning the match 3-6, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (0), 5-7, 6-3 against Sinner after five hours and 15 minutes. Alcaraz will next face Frances Tiafoe on Friday. In the previous rounds , the 19-year-old Alcaraz had defeated Argentinian Sebastian Baez and Federico Coria followed by victory over American Jenson Brooksby and Croatian Marin Cilic.
US Open 2022: Alcaraz follows in Nadal’s footsteps
With this win, Alcaraz became the first teenage man since Rafael Nadal in 2005 to win in a major quarterfinals.
Alcaraz will take the number one spot for the first time in his career if he reaches the final. The youngster had recently become the youngest man to enter the top five rankings of the ATP on July 25 since Rafael Nadal on May 9, 2005.
Currently, Carlos Alcaraz is tied with Rafael Nadal for winning the most number of ATP titles in the 2022 season (4). The Spaniard won two ATP 1000 Masters titles in Miami and two ATP 500 titles in Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona.
Following the win, Alcaraz said “Honestly, I still don’t know how I did it. You have to believe in yourself. I believed in my game. It was really difficult to close out the match. I tried to stay calm, but it is difficult in the moment.”
