Sabalenka, Alcaraz and the US Open's second week
The US Open has reached its second week, with Alcaraz and Tiafoe leading the men's quarterfinal picture, Sabalenka still chasing a three-peat, and Noskova, Navarro and Zheng reshaping the women's draw.
The US Open has reached its second week with Carlos Alcaraz and Frances Tiafoe leading a sharply different men's quarterfinal picture, while Aryna Sabalenka remains three wins from a third straight New York title. Linda Noskova, Emma Navarro and Zheng Qinwen have made the women's draw harder to read than the seed list suggested.
This issue covers Aug. 31-Sept. 7, 2026, through the 10:00 UTC cutoff. The tournament schedule places the fourth round on Sept. 6-7, the quarterfinals on Sept. 8-9, the semifinals on Sept. 10 and the final on Sept. 12. 1
Results at a glance
| Round | Result | Score | What changed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's third round | Francisco Cerundolo beat Taylor Fritz | 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 | Cerundolo came back from two sets down; Fritz made 54 unforced errors. 2 |
| Men's third round | Alexander Blockx beat Flavio Cobolli | 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-0, 6-3 | Blockx moved to No. 32 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, up from No. 116 one year earlier. 2 |
| Women's third round | Zheng Qinwen beat Madison Keys | 1-6, 7-6(3), 7-5 | Zheng saved a match point after trailing 5-0 in the third set and won the last seven games. 3 |
| Women's third round | Coco Gauff beat Cristina Bucsa | 6-3, 6-4 | Gauff reached the fourth round for a fifth consecutive year and extended her winning streak to nine matches. 4 |
| Men's fourth round | Carlos Alcaraz beat Tommy Paul | 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 | Alcaraz reached the quarterfinals and extended his Grand Slam match-winning streak to 18. 5 |
| Men's fourth round | Frances Tiafoe beat Daniil Medvedev | 7-6(1), 6-4, 7-6(6) | Tiafoe reached his fourth US Open quarterfinal and will play Alex Michelsen. 6 |
| Women's fourth round | Aryna Sabalenka beat Taylor Townsend | 6-4, 6-3 | Sabalenka reached her sixth US Open quarterfinal and extended her New York winning streak to 17 matches. 7 |
| Women's fourth round | Linda Noskova beat Marta Kostyuk | 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 | Noskova reached her first US Open quarterfinal after converting her sixth match point. 8 |
| Women's fourth round | Emma Navarro beat Anna Kalinskaya | 6-4, 6-2 | Navarro reached her fourth Grand Slam quarterfinal and set up an all-American match with Jessica Pegula. 9 |
Men's draw: Alcaraz stays on course, Tiafoe changes the mood
Carlos Alcaraz handled Tommy Paul in straight sets and has now won 18 consecutive Grand Slam matches. The result puts Alcaraz in the quarterfinals without a five-set detour, leaving his side of the draw on its original course. 5
Frances Tiafoe supplied the weekend's louder shift. He beat Daniil Medvedev in three tiebreak-tight sets to reach a fourth US Open quarterfinal, despite having lost six of their previous seven regular-tour meetings. Alex Michelsen, who will face Tiafoe next, rose 13 places to No. 33 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. 6
The earlier rounds also changed the men's bracket around the seeds. Francisco Cerundolo recovered from two sets down to beat Taylor Fritz, while Alexander Blockx removed Flavio Cobolli and climbed to No. 32 in the live rankings. Those results put two players outside the expected headline group into the second-week conversation. 2
Women's draw: the ranking race is still attached to every match
Aryna Sabalenka's 6-4, 6-3 win over Taylor Townsend kept her three-peat bid alive. Sabalenka has won 17 straight matches in New York and will meet Linda Noskova, who needed six match points to finish Marta Kostyuk and has won 11 consecutive Grand Slam matches since Wimbledon. 78
Zheng Qinwen's comeback over Madison Keys was the round's most abrupt reversal. Zheng saved a match point while down 5-0 in the third set, then won seven games in a row. Zheng entered the tournament at No. 121 after falling as low as No. 160, so the run has immediate ranking weight as well as a place in the fourth-round schedule. 3
Emma Navarro beat Anna Kalinskaya 6-4, 6-2 to reach a fourth Grand Slam quarterfinal. Navarro will play Jessica Pegula in an all-American quarterfinal. Pegula had already recovered from a slow start to beat Leylah Fernandez 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 and remained in the four-player race for No. 1; the WTA report said she needed her first Grand Slam title to take the top spot. 910
Coco Gauff also reached the fourth round after beating Cristina Bucsa. Her next opponent was Iva Jovic, who defeated Alexandra Eala 7-5, 3-6, 7-5. 4
Ranking watch
The named live positions show the immediate effect of the second week: Alexander Blockx reached No. 32 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, and Alex Michelsen reached No. 33 after moving up 13 places. Zheng Qinwen's run also has a clear ranking baseline because the WTA report places her at No. 121 for the tournament and records that she had fallen as low as No. 160. 236
The top of the women's ranking remains a live tournament storyline. Sabalenka can stay at No. 1 only if she wins a third straight US Open title and Elena Rybakina loses before the semifinals. Pegula also remained in the No. 1 race, with a first Grand Slam title required for the top spot in the scenario reported by the WTA. 710
A complete Monday top-30 table with weekly points earned or lost was not exposed in the readable official reports. This digest therefore records verified named positions and ranking scenarios rather than filling in a points ledger that cannot be checked at the cutoff.
Week ahead: the US Open owns the calendar
The US Open is the only major tour event in the immediate schedule. Monday's remaining fourth-round slate includes Iga Swiatek vs. Zheng Qinwen, Francisco Cerundolo vs. Alexander Blockx, Coco Gauff vs. Iva Jovic, Alexander Zverev vs. Luciano Darderi, Mirra Andreeva vs. Anastasia Potapova, Elena Rybakina vs. Naomi Osaka, and Learner Tien vs. Karen Khachanov. 11
The quarterfinals begin Sept. 8 and continue Sept. 9. The semifinals follow on Sept. 10, with the men's final scheduled for Sept. 13 and the women's final for Sept. 12. 1
References
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- 5Alcaraz breezes into last eight at US Open
aljazeera.com
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- 11What is the US Open schedule?
atptour.com
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