Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the US Open with a straight-set victory over Wu Yibing and said he's getting better every match in the wake of his four-month injury absence.
China's Wu kept Alcaraz hopping with an aggressive baseline game, but Alcaraz came through 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 to line up a meeting with American Tommy Paul for a place in the quarter-finals.
Paul, seeded 20th, beat 15th-seeded Alexander Bublik 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-1, 6-3.
Alcaraz won the Australian Open in January for his seventh Grand Slam ******* le. But the 23-year-old arrived at Flushing Meadows having not played since April as he recovered from a wrist injury.
His lack of match play -- and the pressure Wu applied -- was evident in 33 unforced errors, the Spaniard showing plenty of frustration along with satisfaction.

#alcaraz #injury

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China's Yibing Wu, currently the No. 113 seed, will face No. 3 seed Carlos Alcaraz in the third round of men's singles competition at the U.S. Open. Their match will take place at Arthur Ashe Stadium at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center this Friday, not before 1 p.m. ET. Alcaraz vs. Wu will air on ESPN and stream on the ESPN Unlimited app.
Here's everything you need to know to watch Carlos Alcaraz when he takes on Yibing Wu at the 2026 U.S. Open tennis tournament, plus, check out the full TV schedule, where to stream matches without cable and more.
Date: Sept. 4, 2026
Time: Not before 1 p.m. ET

#yibing #ashe

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz overcame an early wobble to book his place in the third round of the US Open on Wednesday, recovering from a set down to defeat Portugal's Jaime Faria in four sets.
Alcaraz, who is playing in New York after returning from a four-month layoff due to a wrist injury, defeated his 72nd-ranked opponent 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 in 2hr 40 min at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Alcaraz, 23, will face China's Wu Yibing in the third round.
Faria had got off to a dream start, serving solidly and chasing down every ball to put Alcaraz under pressure.
Faria's persistence got its reward in the seventh game, claiming the first break of the match to go 4-3 up when Alcaraz flubbed a forehand.

#alcaraz #Third #down #defending

It's so far, so good for Carlos Alcaraz in his first tennis tournament in four-and-a-half month. But not without some stumbles.
The Spaniard encountered early trouble in the second round of the US Open against the unseeded Jaime Faria, but then shifted up a gear in a 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 win at Flushing Meadows. He will face China's Yibing Wu in the third round.
The win means the 23-year-old Alcaraz still has not lost an ATP match to a player younger than him. Faria is roughly three months younger than him.
A slow start was understandable for Alcaraz, who last played in Barcelona in mid-April. He had been on the shelf since then with a wrist injury, forcing him to miss both Roland-Garros and Wimbledon. He didn't have much trouble in the first round, dispatching Roman Safiullin in straight sets.
Faria came out with a different look. After an exchange of easy holds, Alcaraz pressured Faria's serve in a 14-point game that ended in a hold for the challenger. Faria then returned the favor by breaking Alcaraz in another 14-point game to take a 4-3 lead and, later, the set.

#round #first #trouble

Wimbledon is underway and the upsets have already begun, with men's fourth seed and ****** le contender Ben Shelton the first top name to fall.
The American lost in a match tiebreak after a thrilling five-setter against Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen on Tuesday, in the biggest upset of the tournament so far.
Reigning champion and third seed Iga Swiatek survived an almighty scare in her first-round match against Taylor Townsend and is in line to potentially face dangerous wildcard and seven-time champion Serena Williams as early as the third round.
On the men's side, reigning champion and top seed Jannik Sinner survived a scare of his own as he needed five sets to see off Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic, while seventh seed Novak Djokovic remains a possible semi-final opponent for the Italian after beating China's Yibing Wu in four.
Of the British players Cameron Norrie - who lost in the first round - was the only one to be seeded, after Emma Raducanu withdrew from Wimbledon on the eve of the tournament, confirming the injury "niggle" she had been managing since Queen's had "developed into a stress fracture" .

World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka leads the women's draw as Wimbledon gets underway, with reigning champion Iga Swiatek seeded third and in line to potentially face dangerous wildcard and seven-time champion Serena Williams as early as the third round.
On the men's side, reigning champion Jannik Sinner returns as the top seed - with Carlos Alcaraz absent due to injury - and will face Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic as he begins his **** le defence.
Seventh seed Novak Djokovic is a possible semi-final opponent for the Italian and faces China's Yibing Wu in an ideal start to his campaign - but the unseeded Jack Draper, now with Andy Murray in his corner, has been handed a nightmare opening round against sixth seed Taylor Fritz, who reached the semi-finals last year.
Of the British players Cameron Norrie is the only one to be seeded, after Emma Raducanu withdrew from Wimbledon on the eve of the tournament, confirming the injury "niggle" she had been managing since Queen's had "developed into a stress fracture".
Follow the top players' progress with our seed tracker here:

A resilient Novak Djokovic launched his latest bid for a record 25th Grand Slam **** le with a battling win over China's Wu Yibing in the first round at Wimbledon.
The 39-year-old has been tied with Australia's Margaret Court on 24 major **** les since the 2023 US Open.
But he started his campaign for the standalone record with a gritty 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-4 win on a rowdy Centre Court to maintain his 100% win rate in 21 first-round matches at SW19.
"It felt really challenging for me today," said Djokovic, who had not played since his third-round defeat by Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca at the French Open.
"I'm feeling happy but not the freshest. It didn't feel like the first round to be honest."

Jannik Sinner survived a major scare and a bloodied foot to open his Wimbledon ****** le defence with a five-set victory over Miomir Kecmanovic, while Novak Djokovic had to dig deep to beat China's Wu Yibing.
Sinner was pushed to the brink of becoming only the third male defending champion to lose in the Wimbledon first round before battling back to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-2, 6-3 on Monday.
Trailing by two sets to one, the Italian world number one dug deep to win his first five-set match in his last six attempts.
Sinner's gutsy victory in three hours and 28 minutes was all the more commendable after he injured his right foot in an awkward fall that left his shoe covered in blood.
He let out a shriek of pain and was motionless for several moments before gingerly resuming play.

World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka leads the women’s draw as Wimbledon gets underway, with reigning champion Iga Swiatek seeded third and in line to potentially face dangerous wildcard and seven-time champion Serena Williams as early as the third round.
On the men’s side, reigning champion Jannik Sinner returns as the top seed - with Carlos Alcaraz absent due to injury - and will face Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic as he begins his ******* le defence.
Wimbledon 2026 LIVE: Latest scores and updates from SW19
Seventh seed Novak Djokovic is a possible semi-final opponent for the Italian and faces China's Yibing Wu in an ideal start to his campaign - but the unseeded Jack Draper, now with Andy Murray in his corner, has been handed a nightmare opening round against sixth seed Taylor Fritz, who reached the semi-finals last year.
Of the British players Cameron Norrie is the only one to be seeded, after Emma Raducanu withdrew from Wimbledon on the eve of the tournament, confirming the injury “niggle” she had been managing since Queen’s had “developed into a stress fracture”.

World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka leads the women’s draw as Wimbledon gets underway, with reigning champion Iga Swiatek seeded third and in line to potentially face dangerous wildcard and seven-time champion Serena Williams as early as the third round.
On the men’s side, reigning champion Jannik Sinner returns as the top seed - with Carlos Alcaraz absent due to injury - and will face Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic as he begins his ******* le defence.
Wimbledon 2026 LIVE: Latest scores and updates from SW19
Seventh seed Novak Djokovic is a possible semi-final opponent for the Italian and faces China's Yibing Wu in an ideal start to his campaign - but the unseeded Jack Draper, now with Andy Murray in his corner, has been handed a nightmare opening round against sixth seed Taylor Fritz, who reached the semi-finals last year.
Of the British players Cameron Norrie is the only one to be seeded, after Emma Raducanu withdrew from Wimbledon on the eve of the tournament, confirming the injury “niggle” she had been managing since Queen’s had “developed into a stress fracture”.

World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka leads the women’s draw as Wimbledon gets underway, with reigning champion Iga Swiatek seeded third and in line to potentially face dangerous wildcard and seven-time champion Serena Williams as early as the third round.
On the men’s side, reigning champion Jannik Sinner returns as the top seed - with Carlos Alcaraz absent due to injury - and will face Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic as he begins his **** le defence.
Wimbledon 2026 LIVE: Latest scores and updates from SW19
Seventh seed Novak Djokovic is a possible semi-final opponent for the Italian and faces China's Yibing Wu in an ideal start to his campaign - but the unseeded Jack Draper, now with Andy Murray in his corner, has been handed a nightmare opening round against sixth seed Taylor Fritz, who reached the semi-finals last year.
Of the British players Cameron Norrie is the only one to be seeded, after Emma Raducanu withdrew from Wimbledon on the eve of the tournament, confirming the injury “niggle” she had been managing since Queen’s had “developed into a stress fracture”.

Defending men’s Wimbledon champion Jannik Sinner will open play on Centre Court against Miomir Kecmanovic while Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka will also be in action on day one of the Championships.
Sinner, the favourite to defend his ******* le with two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz absent, has not played a match since his shock second-round exit from the French Open last month, which came while the Italian was feeling unwell in the intense heat.
Wimbledon 2026 LIVE: Latest scores as Raducanu explains last-minute injury withdrawal
The men’s No 1 has been drawn in the same half of the draw as seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic, who begins his latest bid for a 25th time grand slam ******* le against China’s Wu Yibing at the age of 39.
Sabalenka also begins her campaign against Teodora Kostovic, but a potential third-round rematch with Emma Raducanu is no longer on the cards. The British No 1 pulled out on the eve of the tournament, confirming the injury “niggle” she had been managing since Queen’s had “developed into a stress fracture”.