Alcaraz Beats Paul to Reach US Open QF

Carlos Alcaraz made his first tournament back look like old business. The defending US Open champion beat Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 on Sunday at Arthur Ashe Stadium and locked up a quarterfinal berth, per the Associated Press.

It is Alcaraz's first event after about four and a half months out with a right wrist injury. He has dropped just one set through four rounds and stretched his Grand Slam winning streak to 18. That is not a soft landing schedule. That is Ashe in Week 2 against an American who lives on awkward balls.

Wrist layoff, same gear

"I'm happy with that performance," Alcaraz said, per AP. "I played my game. I tried to play my style. Tommy's such a talented player. His shots are pretty dangerous and it's sometimes pretty difficult to control the ball when it comes to you, so I just tried to be ready."

Paul pushed in the third. Alcaraz answered with a ball so clean Matthew McConaughey, sitting courtside, looked stunned with the rest of Ashe when it set up match point. Asked if he feels back to form, Alcaraz simply said, "I think so." The building already believed him. The scoreboard made it official in straight sets. Paul had the talent to prolong rallies and change the height of the ball. Alcaraz still dictated the big points when the third set started to lean.

"I'm just trying to enjoy my time on the court," he added. "It doesn't matter that I was out four months and a half. Every time that I come here, I play my best." That was the bar he set last week when he said he would not return until he could play like himself. Four rounds in, the bar is holding. The wrist is not the story anymore. The level is.

American Round of 16 day

Paul was one of five U.S. men in the Round of 16, the most at a major since eight in 1995 at Flushing Meadows. Learner Tien, Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, and Alex Michelsen filled out that group. The host country stacked the board. Alcaraz still walked through it without dropping a set on Sunday.

Sunday was not about proving the wrist is healthy on paper. It was about dictating Ashe when Paul started making the third set interesting. Alcaraz did that. The streak is 18. The quarterfinals are next, and New York is getting the version of him that refused to come back early.