Carlos Alcaraz spends his days tracking foes

After beating Lloyd Harris 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (4), defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reveals he checks all scores regardless of which part of the draw it is from

Carlos Alcaraz loves the morning-to-midnight action of Grand Slam tennis, saying he spends all day checking the scores. Then, he already knows his side of the US Open draw has grown significantly tougher than Novak Djokovic’s. The defending champion beat Lloyd Harris 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (4) on Thursday night to reach the third round, where most of the top players in his half of the bracket remain.

The second-seeded Djokovic’s bottom half of the draw has already seen losses by No. 4 Holger Rune, No. 5 Casper Ruud and No. 7 Stefanos Tsitsipas. While some players say they focus only on themselves, the 20-year-old Alcaraz is aware of what’s happening all around him. “It doesn’t matter if it’s in the top part or the bottom part [of the draw], I’m following all the results,” Alcaraz said.

Ninth-seeded Taylor Fritz and No. 10 Frances Tiafoe, who lost to Alcaraz in the 2022 US Open semi-finals, are the only other top-10 seeds left in the bottom half of the draw. The top half still includes No. 3 Daniil Medvedev, No. 6 Jannik Sinner, No. 8 Andrey Rublev and No. 12 Alexander Zverev, the runner-up three years ago in Flushing Meadows.

Also Read: 'You have to enjoy it': Carlos Alcaraz on battle for World No. 1 with Novak Djokovic

“I think I played great, a great match,” Alcaraz said. Next up is No. 26 Dan Evans of Britain on Saturday. Alcaraz has won both previous meetings, including earlier this season in Barcelona. Meanwhile, former champion Andy Murray and American powerhouse John Isner saw their journey come to an end on a day of intense action and compelling matchups. Murray lost to Grigor Dimitrov 3-6, 4-6, 1-6.

Isner made a spirited attempt, but was ultimately unsuccessful in the singles competition as he lost to Michael Mmoh 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(3/7), 4-6, 6-7(10/7). However, Isner declared his retirement plans, but was unsuccessful in claiming a victory to round off his career. Isner didn’t get the send-off he had anticipated when fellow countryman Michael Mmoh came back from two sets down to overcome him.

Other key results

>> D Medvedev bt  C O’Connell 6-2, 6-2, 6-7(6-8), 6-2
>> A Zverev bt D Altmaier 7-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
>> A Rublev bt G Monfils 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1

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