US Open Day 8 - Alcaraz vs. America

It was a strong day for the American men at Flushing Meadows as Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton and Alex Michelsen all booked their spots in the quarter-finals, but the performance of the day came from Carlos Alcaraz. Catherine Whitaker, David Law and Matt Roberts discuss it all. Part one - We start by analysing Alcaraz’s win over Tommy Paul which saw him produce a phenomenal level. Does Alzaraz’s form mean that David has changed his mind about what will happen when Alcaraz faces Shelton? We preview that match and discuss what, if anything, Shelton will have to do to win. There’s also discussion of Tiafoe’s amazing victory over Daniil Medvedev and the incredible scenes on the Louis Armstrong Stadium as Tiafoe maintained his 100% record on that court. Part two (37:49) - We discuss Aryna Sabalenka’s straight-sets win over Taylor Townsend. Why was the match a bit disappointing? And did we learn much about Sabalenka ahead of her quarter-final against Linda Noskova? There’s a review of Noskova’s gripping win over Marta Kostyuk which saw her choke and win anyway once again. We also look ahead to Jessica Pegula vs Emma Navarro after both players won through. Part three (56:59) - A look ahead to Monday’s order of play, which includes a surprising men’s match on the Arthur Ashe Stadium as well as Zheng Qinwen vs Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka vs Elena Rybakina. Thank you to Steve Furgal’s International Tennis Tours ⁠Tours4Tennis.com/Podcast⁠, the Premium Hospitality and Experience provider for supporting our US Open coverage. They can organise your dream tennis-watching experience at the biggest tournaments in the world, inducing the WTA Finals held this year at Indian Wells, 8th-15th November. Just go to ⁠Tours4Tennis.com/Podcast⁠ and use the code DEUCE5 at checkout for 5% off. 5% off select WTA Finals packages with code DEUCE5 at ⁠tours4tennis.com/podcast⁠. Valid 8/24/26 through 9/30/26. New bookings only; applies to base package price; subject to availability. Cannot be combined with other offers. Subject to On Location's Purchase Policy and Terms of Use. For ad-free listening and bonus content, become a ⁠Friend of The Tennis Podcast⁠: https://bit.ly/FriendOfTheTennisPodcast Check out our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠new merch shop⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://www.thetennispodcast.net/shop Sign up to receive our free ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, Fantasy League updates, and more): http://eepurl.com/gbmzRX Follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (@thetennispodcast): / djqzbwwmk