US Open 2025: Alcaraz, Rybakina win round 3 matches in straight sets to advance
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "US Open 2025: Alcaraz, Rybakina win round 3 matches in straight sets to advance")
Alcaraz, Rybakina win round 3 matches in straight sets to advance Photograph: (X/Carlos Alcaraz)
US Open 2025: Carlos Alcaraz beat Luciano Darderi 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 in men's singles while Elena Rybakina routed Britain's Emma Raducanu 6-1, 6-2 in women's singles R3 matches to advance.
Carlos Alcaraz coasted into the last 16 of the US Open on Friday with a straight-sets win despite sparking fitness concerns as he received treatment for a knee issue. Alcaraz beat Italian 32nd seed Luciano Darderi 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 and will face Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in the next round. The Spaniard took a medical timeout late in the second set after complaining of knee pain but won the final seven games once play resumed and said he was "not worried about it".
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Alcaraz surrendered only two points on serve in the opening set but Darderi put up more of a challenge in the second, battling back from a break down before his rival summoned the trainer at 5-4.
"I'm feeling good - I just asked for him when he (Darderi) broke my serve because I felt something wasn't working great in the knee but after five or six points it was gone," said Alcaraz.
"I just asked the physio to have a look at it because I wanted to be feeling good physically for that last set."
Darderi doubled-faulted while trying to stay in the second set and Alcaraz wrapped up a 42nd win in his last 44 matches, quickly rattling through the third set.
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"I just tried to start awake, that was important. Starting at 11:30 my first goal is to start well with a good energy and rhythm," said Alcaraz, who was first in action on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.
“I'm not an early morning person so it's difficult for me to wake up in the morning. One of the good things today though I woke up early, did the warm up and felt good.”
Elena Rybakina routs Raducanu
Former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina demolished Britain's Emma Raducanu to reach the fourth round of the US Open for the first time on Friday.
The Moscow-born ninth seed from Kazakhstan, whose previous best result in New York was a pair of third round appearances, overpowered Raducanu to win 6-1, 6-2 in one hour two minutes.
"Throughout the whole years, for some reason the US Open wasn't a success for me but hopefully this year that will change," Rybakina said in her on-court interview.
The unseeded Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, had looked in confident form en route to Friday's clash with Rybakina on the Louis Armstrong Stadium showcourt.
But the 22-year-old was in trouble from the outset against Rybakina, the Kazakh breaking her serve right away to seize the early advantage.
Raducanu had no answer to Rybakina's superior power as the Kazakh reeled off a series of thumping forehand winners before completing a convincing win.
Rybakina is playing in New York with controversial coach Stefano Rukov restored to her viewing box after the WTA lifted a suspension against the Croat earlier this month.
Vukov had been barred from attending all tournaments by the WTA after being found to have breached the tour's code of conduct.
He had been fired by Rybakina just before last year's US Open, and subsequently bombarded the player with requests to return which left her fearing for her safety according to details of a WTA investigation reported by The Athletic.
Vukov was banned for a year in January after the WTA ruled he had engaged in "abuse of authority and abusive behaviour" towards Rybakina.
However Rybakina subsequently reunited with Vukov, who has coached her this season between events. He was allowed to return to courtside at the Cincinnati Open after successfully appealing against his suspension.