US Open: Carlos Alcaraz breezes past Tommy Paul in straight sets to advance to quarterfinal

Carlos Alcaraz is moving on in the 2026 US Open after a definitive win over Tommy Paul, with the No. 2 ranked player beating the American in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.

In a baffling stat, Sunday's three-set victory marks 14th straight sets that Alcaraz has won against the American. Paul has not taken a set over Alcaraz since Wimbledon in 2024, even though the pair have faced off four times since then.

Though Paul was unable to break through again this time, he did put up a fight in the first set: Alcaraz and Paul traded games until the young Spaniard finally broke the American's serve to eventually win 6-4.

Alcaraz looked like he was on his way to an easy win in the second set, but Paul started to battle back, fighting off multiple break points before Alcaraz was able to hold him off.

Paul fought another break from Alcaraz in the the third game of the set, scoring three unanswered points to claw back from a near-scoreless game. But Alcaraz recovered well to snatch the break point and send him on the path to victory.

With Alcaraz one game from a win — and Paul failing to pick up a single break in the third — Paul was able to sweep through his final service game without letting Alcaraz snatch a point back. However, the American couldn't hold off Alcaraz as the Spaniard used his power to deftly finish Paul off.

Alcaraz has barely missed a step since returning from a wrist injury that sidelined him for 4 ½ months. The Spaniard kicked things off with a strong showing , beating Roman Safiullin in straight sets ; though he dropped the first set to Jaime Faria in the second round, he pulled back for another win , and then beat Wu Yibing in straight sets as well.

Initially, Alcaraz's return, paired with World No. 1 Jannik Sinner pulling out of the tournament with a knee injury, left the impression of a wide-open bracket in men's singles . But even after a long layoff, Alcaraz is continuing his dominance: He is now 63-0 in major tournaments after winning the first two sets.

Alcaraz will now continue his journey toward trying to defend his 2025 US Open title in the quarterfinal, facing the winner of Sunday night's match between No. 8 Ben Shelton and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Paul, meanwhile, will fall out of a Grand Slam before the quarterfinal for the sixth consecutive tournament, with his last quarterfinal appearance coming at Roland-Garros in 2025.