U.S. Open Live Coverage: Day 8

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3:40 p.m.

Venus Williams failed to convert a match point and lost in the fourth round of the U.S. Open to a player a dozen years younger than her, 10th-seeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic.

Pliskova reached the first Grand Slam quarterfinal of her career by coming back to edge seven-time major champion Williams 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3) on Monday in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The 24-year-old Pliskova had never been past the third round in 17 previous appearances at majors.

At 36, Williams was trying to become the oldest Grand Slam quarterfinalist since Martina Navratilova was 37 at Wimbledon in 1994.

1:05 p.m.

Simona Halep made the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open for the second straight year, beating Carla Suarez Navarro in straight sets.

The fifth-seeded Romanian won 6-2, 7-5 on Monday. She could face No. 1 Serena Williams next. The 22-time major champ plays Yaroslava Shvedova later in the day.

Suarez Navarro, seeded 11th, was seeking the sixth Grand Slam quarterfinal of her career.

Halep had a chance to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set but got broken. She then broke Suarez Navarro’s serve in the next game and successfully served it out in her second opportunity.

1 p.m.

Juan Martin del Potro is back in the U.S. Open quarterfinals after Dominic Thiem retired in the second set of their match.

The eighth-seeded Thiem took a medical timeout to have trainers look at his right knee after the set’s fifth game. He returned to the court for one point before deciding he couldn’t go on.

Del Potro had won the first set 6-3 and was up a break in the second.

Thiem, who turned 23 on Saturday, has had a breakthrough year, reaching the French Open semifinals and cracking the top 10. But the long season was starting to wear on his body.

Del Potro knows all about that. The 2009 U.S. Open champ missed the tournament the last two years after surgeries on his left wrist.

But his stunning run to the Olympic silver medal signaled he’s a contender again.

Del Potro got a huge break Monday when he spent only 72 minutes on court. He’s played just 10-plus sets through four rounds.

At No. 142, del Potro is the lowest-ranked U.S. Open quarterfinalist since Jimmy Connors in 1991.

11 a.m.

Juan Martin del Potro, Andy Murray and the Williams sisters are among those seeking to book their spots in the quarterfinals on Labor Day Monday at the U.S. Open.

Del Potro, the 2009 champ who has won over fans with his comeback from left wrist surgeries, takes on eighth-seeded Dominic Thiem, who broke into the top 10 this year after reaching the French Open semifinals.

The No. 2-seeded Murray, who is hoping to add Flushing Meadows to his Wimbledon and Olympic titles this year, takes on 22-seeded Grigor Dimitrov. And third-seeded Stan Wawrinka, who saved a match point in a five-set win Saturday, faces Illya Marchenko.

Among the women’s highlights are back-to-back afternoon matches on Ashe with the Williams sisters. Sixth-seeded Venus is on first against 10th-seeded Karolina Pliskova, who is in the round of 16 at a major for the first time. Then top-seeded Serena meets 52nd-ranked Yaroslava Shvedova.

Fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska is in the nightcap on Ashe, taking on 92nd-ranked Ana Konjuh.

Alcaraz wins Indian Wells over Medvedev, regains No. 1 rank

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INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – Carlos Alcaraz defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-2 to win the BNP Paribas Open title and regain the world’s No. 1 ranking.

The 19-year-old Spaniard will move from second to first in the ATP Tour rankings on Monday, displacing Novak Djokovic. The Serb withdrew from Indian Wells before the tournament began when he couldn’t gain entry to the U.S. because he’s unvaccinated for COVID-19.

“For me, it’s a dream come true again,” Alcaraz said. “Obviously being in front of such great players like Novak, it’s an amazing feeling.”

“I would say this has been the perfect tournament,” he said.

In the women’s final, Elena Rybakina beat Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (11), 6-4 and handed the world’s second-ranked player just her second loss this year.

Last year, Alcaraz became the youngest man to reach No. 1 in ATP history after his title at the U.S. Open.

He achieved another mark in the third round at Indian Wells. That’s when Alcaraz notched his 100th career match victory, the second-quickest player behind John McEnroe to do so.

Alcaraz also became the first man to win the tournament without dropping a set since Roger Federer in 2017 and the youngest man to win the title in the desert.

“I really trust in every shot that I hit,” he said. “If I miss, I don’t mind.”

Alcaraz hit 19 winners and had 10 unforced errors while keeping Medvedev off-balance with a steady array of serve-and-volley and drop shots. The teenager never faced a break point while opening leads of 3-0 in the first set and 4-0 in the second.

“What I improve a lot is to don’t take the pressure, just to play relaxed,” Alcaraz said. “That’s why I show a great level, because I feel like I have no pressure. I enjoy. I’m playing relaxed.”

Medvedev’s 19-match winning streak ended. It went back to his title run in Rotterdam in February. He then won tournaments in Doha and Dubai.

“I want to congratulate you for the work you have done in the last few months,” Alcaraz told his opponent. “Winning three titles in a row and reaching the finals here is an amazing achievement.”

Alcaraz and Rybakina earned $1,262,220 each for their wins.

Rybakina carried the momentum from her straight-set semifinal upset of top-ranked Iga Swiatek into the final and beat Sabalenka for the first time in five career meetings.

For the first time in their budding rivalry, the match didn’t go three sets. Sabalenka went the distance to beat Rybakina in the Australian Open final in January. In that match, Sabalenka fired 17 aces and rallied from a set down to win her first Grand Slam title.

This time, the 10th-seeded Rybakina had seven aces and No. 2 seed Sabalenka committed 10 double faults. Sabalenka won just 11 of 35 second-serve points.

“I would say that I was super disappointed with my serve, so I was back to old habits,” she said. “I was like a little bit overreacting on things, and I wasn’t there in the first two games in the second set.”

Rybakina broke for leads of 2-0 and 5-2 in the second set before Sabalenka closed to 5-4. But Rybakina served out the victory in just over two hours.

“This tiebreak was really epic, I would say, with all these double faults and nerves,” Rybakina said. “In the end, it was just focusing on every point and try to fight till the end.”

Rybakina improved her match record to 16-4 this year; Sabalenka fell to 17-2.

“This tough loss will motivate me more because I don’t like to lose in the finals,” Sabalenka said. “This is the worst.”

During the victory ceremony, Rybakina, the current Wimbledon champion, told the crowd it was the first time she’d beaten Sabalenka.

Sabalenka stepped forward, took the mic and said, “I will make sure it was the last one.”

Then she smiled.

Rybakina defeats Sabalenka to win Indian Wells title

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INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – Elena Rybakina defeated Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (11), 6-4 to win the BNP Paribas Open and hand the world’s second-ranked player just her second loss this year.

Rybakina carried the momentum from her straight-set semifinal upset of top-ranked Iga Swiatek into the final and beat Sabalenka for the first time in five career meetings.

For the first time in their budding rivalry, the match didn’t go three sets. Sabalenka went the distance to beat Rybakina in the Australian Open final in January. In that match, Sabalenka fired 17 aces and rallied from a set down to win her first Grand Slam title.

This time, Rybakina had seven aces and Sabalenka committed 10 double faults.

Rybakina improved her match record to 16-4 this year; Sabalenka fell to 17-2.