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NEW YORK — No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz, a 19-year-old Spaniard, defeated unseeded Jenson Brooksby, a 21-year-old Californian, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 on Saturday at the US Open, advancing to the fourth round in a facility he’s very comfortable in.
Alcaraz became the youngest man to reach the US Open quarterfinal last year and has created momentum for another potential run there this summer.
On Saturday, he became the youngest man since Pete Sampras in 1989 and 1990 to reach the fourth round in consecutive Opens.
Alcaraz was down 3-0 in the third set until he won six straight games to take off and top Brooksby. Brooksby was 20 last year when he went to the fourth round, where Novak Djokovic eliminated him in four sets.
Alcaraz, always hustling and on the move, appeared to blow out a pair of sneakers and needed a change of shoes during the match. He gave away another pair of sneakers to fans in celebration of the victory.
“I played really, really well,” he said after the match inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. “I knew that it was going to be a tough match. I’m really happy with my performance.”
Up a break in the second game, Brooksby gave the crowd a thrill when he fell backward during a 17-shot rally but incredibly recovered to win the point. He added to the crowd’s elation when he broke the third seed to love in the next game.
The party would be short-lived, however, as Alcaraz won the next six games. He will next play wither Marin Cilic or Daniel Evans.
Elsewhere at the National Tennis Center, No. 7 Cam Norrie beat No. 28 Holger Rune 7-5, 6-4, 6-1 and No. 9 Andrey Rublev got past No. 19 Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4, 7-6 (10-7). Norrie and Rublev play each other next, and Rublev’s match Saturday lasted more than four hours.
Rublev hit only 38 winners and had nine aces to Shapovalov’s 76 winners and 23 aces. Rublev needed five match points to finally win the match. The Russian collapsed on the ground and buried his face in his hands in exhaustion as the grandstands crowd went wild following one of the best matches in the first week of the tournament.
Rublev advanced to the US Open quarterfinals in 2017 and 2020 and also lost in the fourth round in 2019.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.