US Open: 18-year old Carlos Alcaraz sets new Open Era record after storming into quarters

Already touted as the next big thing in men’s tennis, Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz put on a show at the 2021 US Open, beating German Peter Gojowczyk and becoming the youngest player of the Open era to reach the quarterfinal stages of a Grand Slam tournament in Flushing Meadows.

18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz, who is keeping the Spanish flag flying high in New York in the absence of Rafael Nadal, defeated Gojowczyk 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 6-0 in the men’s singles fourth-round match in New York on Sunday.

Alcaraz, who is 18 years and four months old, is 8 days younger than Andre Agassi when the American reached the 1988 US Open quarter-finals and semi-finals.

The Spaniard is also the youngest to reach this stage in New York since Brazilian Thomaz Koch in 1963, five years before the sport turned professional when the tournament was known as the US Championships.

Gojowczyk, 14 years older than Alcaraz and playing in the fourth round of a major for the first time, made a bright start to edge the first set, but was hampered by an injury to his thigh and took a medical timeout midway through the fourth.

The German fought hard but faded badly as the match wore on, labouring behind the baseline as Alcaraz closed out the match with a bagel in the decider, sealing victory in three hours, 31 minutes when Gojowczyk sent a forehand sailing long.

Alcaraz smashed 35 winners and seven aces while winning 15 points at the net, feeding off the energy of the vocal crowd on Grandstand, while his opponent ended the match with a whopping 84 unforced errors.

Carlos Alcaraz will next face 12th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada who defeated Frances Tiafoe in a hard-fought men’s singles contest on Sunday.