Carlos Alcaraz becomes second youngest male to reach four consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinals

The Spaniard will be aiming to retain his title at the competition

Carlos Alcaraz becomes the second youngest men's singles player during the Open Era to reach the quarterfinals of four consecutive Grand Slams. Only the Swedish great, Bjorn Borg, was younger when he accomplished the same feat between Roland Garros in 1975 and the US Open in 1976.

Carlos Alcaraz, the defending US Open champion, became the second man since 1968 to reach three US Open quarterfinals before the age of 21 when he moved past Italian Matteo Arnaldi on Monday (September 4th). The top seed beat World No. 67 Arnaldi (6-3, 6-3, 6-4) in one hour and 57 minutes and in the process reached the quarterfinals.

The Italian, Arnaldi, was playing in his first-ever fourth-round match at a Grand Slam. In the previous edition of US Open, Alcaraz overcame Casper Ruud to lift his maiden Grand Slam trophy.

The Spaniard holds a 15-1 record in the competition and is the second man after two-time champion Andre Agassi to reach the last eight thrice before turning 21. The American achieved the feat between 1988-1990.

Alcaraz aims to emulate Roger Federer 

Should Alcaraz successfully defend his title this year, then he will be the first player since Roger Federer in 2008 to do so. The Spaniard faces Alexander Zverev for a spot in the last four. Germany's Alexander Zverev had advanced to the quarterfinals of the US Open 2023 after defeating higher seed Jannik Sinner in a marathon five-setter (6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3) and book a quarterfinal clash with the top-seeded Spaiard Alcaraz. 

Sinner’s loss was the second late-night defeat in the space of a year. The Italian had lost a 5-hour, 15-minute quarterfinal to the eventual champion, Alcaraz last year. The encounter, which wound up close to 3 AM, was one of the longest in US Open history.