SABALENKA AND ALCARAZ REACH US OPEN QUARTERFINALS

Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarterfinals of the US Open on Sunday, defeating Taylor Townsend 6-4, 6-3. The world No. 1 extended her winning streak at Flushing Meadows to 17 matches and has now reached six consecutive US Open quarterfinals. The victory marked Sabalenka's 44th win of the season and her 23rd win in her last 24 US Open matches. She continues her bid for a third consecutive US Open title as defending champion.

Carlos Alcaraz also reached the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 straight-sets victory over American 20th seed Tommy Paul. Playing just his fourth competitive singles match following a wrist injury that sidelined him for more than four months, Alcaraz extended his Grand Slam match winning streak to 18. The 23-year-old Spaniard missed both the French Open and Wimbledon earlier this summer but won the previous two majors, claiming last year's US Open and this year's Australian Open. Alcaraz has dropped only one set across his four matches in New York.

Alcaraz will face either American eighth seed Ben Shelton or Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals, with that match scheduled for Sunday's night session. The Spaniard holds a perfect record against both players at Tour level, having defeated Shelton three times and Tsitsipas on six occasions. Alcaraz stated after his win that his shot-making quality remains intact, demonstrating the point with a 103mph cross-court forehand winner during the second set.