Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz continued his smooth progress through the US Open draw as he beat China’s Yibing Wu 6-3 6-4 6-1 to reach the fourth round.
The Spaniard is still shaking off rust after a near five-month injury layoff with a troublesome wrist injury, which saw him miss the French Open and Wimbledon as well as all of the American hard-court swing leading into New York.
But he remains among the favourites for the title and extended his match-winning streak at majors to 17 with the straight-sets victory on Friday, wowing the crowd with some of his trademark highlight-reel shotmaking.
Alcaraz broke Wu’s serve in the opening game of the match but was punished for a sloppy service game of his own as the Chinese player broke back for 3-3.
However the Spaniard immediately put himself back in front with another break of serve and consolidated that advantage, breaking for a third time as Wu netted to seal the opening set 6-3.
Alcaraz won five games in a row after being broken in that first set while Wu cut a frustrated figure, his level dropping as he lost serve immediately in the second set.
Although the world No 113 put things back on serve with another break for 2-1 Alcaraz did enough to inch back ahead, breaking again to close out the second set.
His opponent was left ruing missed opportunities as the Spaniard saved two break points in the first game of the third set before pulling away in what was ultimately a dominant final set.
Wu had another chance to break with Alcaraz serving for a place in the fourth round at 5-1 but he missed a volley and the 23-year-old shrugged off the pressure to seal the match with an ace. He will face 20th seed Tommy Paul next after the American needed five sets to see off Alexander Bublik.
Earlier in New York 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev cruised past 26th seed Arthur Rinderknech, beating the Frenchman 6-4 6-4 6-4.
The Russian dropped serve for the first time in the tournament early in the first set but immediately recovered and stepped up a gear. He did not face a single break point in an authoritative second and finished strongly, breaking early in the third before wrapping up a straightforward victory.
The seventh seed will face either Frances Tiafoe or Rinderknech’s cousin, Monaco’s Valentin Vacherot, in the fourth round.
