Carlos Alcaraz had to get up unusually early on Friday but it was ultimately business as usual for the Spaniard as he surged into the US Open last 16 despite an injury scare.
Alcaraz found himself plugged into the opening slot on the Arthur Ashe Stadium schedule, but the change to his regular routine had little bearing on the outcome to his match.
A 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 victory over Italian 32nd seed Luciano Darderi presented few problems for Alcaraz, who has won 42 of his last 44 matches.
"I'm not an early morning person so it's difficult for me to wake up in the morning," said Alcaraz.
"It's something that I'm not used to. It's just the second match that I played, you know, 11:00 or 11:30. The first one was in Rome. This one the second time that I played this time.
"So for me I just went to bed at 11:00, 11:15. That for me is really weird, to be honest, which I am really proud about. Yeah, I just woke (at) 7:00 in the morning just to be ready to warm up well, feeling awake, and feeling good.
"So it was an unusual time for me, but at the same time it's good, because I'm already done with everything."
Alcaraz surrendered only two points on serve in the opening set but caused alarm when calling for the trainer at 5-4 in the second set.
He took a medical timeout for treatment after feeling a twinge in his knee, but once play resumed Alcaraz won the final seven games of the match.
20 US Open wins.
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 29, 2025
80 Grand Slam wins.
Carlos Alcaraz continues to soar to dizzying heights 💯 pic.twitter.com/m6UCDe1rri
"I'm feeling good - I just asked for him when he (Darderi) broke my serve because I felt something wasn't working great in the knee but after five or six points it was gone," said Alcaraz.
"I just asked the physio to have a look at it because I wanted to be feeling good physically for that last set. I'm not worried about it."
Alcaraz goes on to play Arthur Rinderknech, a 30-year-old Frenchman through to the last 16 of a Grand Slam for the first time.
After a shock second-round exit in New York 12 months ago, Alcaraz is yet to drop a set this week in his quest for a sixth Grand Slam title.
"I'm just trying not to do the same things as last year," said the 2022 US Open winner.
"Trying to, you know, improve and do things much better. Every time that I step on the court, I'm just locked in since the first point until the last one.
"I'm taking last year as motivation coming into this year, be more hungry, ambitious to do great things here.
"This is a place that I love playing. The energy is crazy, so I'm just trying to feel the love and the energy from the people much more and playing as much matches as I can. So that motivates me."
INJURED SHELTON EXITS
American hopes of ending the country's 22-year wait for a men's champion suffered a blow with the injury exit of sixth seed Ben Shelton.
While Alcaraz was able to shrug off his knee issue, a shoulder injury scuppered Shelton's hopes of becoming the first American man to win the US Open since Andy Roddick in 2003.
The big-serving Shelton, a semifinalist at Flushing Meadows in 2023, departed the Louis Armstrong Stadium court in tears after being forced to retire at the end of the fourth set of his match against French veteran Adrian Mannarino.
Shelton, 22, was leading 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 but clutched his shoulder in pain early in the fourth set and called a medical timeout. He recovered but retired after Mannarino took the fourth set.
"When he started to have pain he was leading in the match, he honestly probably would have won that match," said the 37-year-old Mannarino. "It's very unfortunate for him and lucky for me."
In an early game, Czech 20th seed Jiri Lehecka sailed into the next round with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Belgium's Raphael Collignon.
TIAFOE BOUNCED OUT IN THIRD ROUND
Frances Tiafoe, a US Open semifinalist twice in the past three years, crashed out in straight sets to Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff in the third round on Friday.
Struff came through the qualifiers to reach the main draw and continued to upset the odds, taking out 17th seed Tiafoe 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (9/7) to make the last 16 in New York for the first time.
The 35-year-old Struff defeated Danish 11th seed Holger Rune in the previous round and could face 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic for a spot in the quarterfinals.
The German had not won a match at Flushing Meadows before this tournament since reaching the third round in 2020.
Tiafoe's exit was his earliest at the US Open since a second-round loss in 2019. His defeat came shortly after fellow American and sixth seed Ben Shelton retired from his match on Friday with a shoulder injury.
Andy Roddick's 2003 US Open victory is the last men's major won by an American player.
DJOKOVIC OVERCOMES NORRIE TO MAKE LAST 16
Novak Djokovic beat Britain's Cameron Norrie in four sets on Friday to became the oldest man to reach the US Open last 16 since Jimmy Connors in 1991.
The 38-year-old Djokovic earned a record 192nd Grand Slam match win on hard courts as he defeated Norrie 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 6-2, 6-3, staying in the hunt for an unprecedented 25th major title.
A good Friday night for Novak in New York! pic.twitter.com/upsxW2kfs3
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 30, 2025
"Coming into any match you really want to win in straight sets without any drama but obviously that's not possible," said Djokovic.
"It's good that I get tested. I obviously haven't had any matches since Wimbledon.
"I'm still trying to find my rhythm and my groove on the court."
Djokovic has now defeated Norrie in all seven of their meetings and is through to the fourth round in New York for the 16th time in his career.
The record keeps climbing for Novak Djokovic 📈 pic.twitter.com/SIFI6CWLoC
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 30, 2025
On Sunday he will play German veteran Jan-Lennard Struff, who has already knocked out two seeds in Holger Rune and Frances Tiafoe.
A lone break of Norrie's serve in the seventh game was enough for Djokovic to pocket the opening set, but not before he summoned the physio to work on his lower back.
The Serbian star headed off court for a medical timeout and returned to serve out the first set.
"It's all right, you have some ups and downs. You don't want to reveal too much to the rivals listening," said a grinning Djokovic, refusing to elaborate on the nature of his back issue.
Bring out a little string work on a Friday night! pic.twitter.com/gkFZuVZMBa
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 30, 2025
He had the chance to make further inroads in the second set but Norrie saved three break points and then pinched the tie-break from his smouldering rival who double-faulted on set point.
Norrie took that momentum into the third set with an early break, drawing an emphatic response from Djokovic as he responded by winning four straight games.
Djokovic soon made the set his and another break to start the fourth set gave him the cushion required to close out a milestone victory.