US Open: No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz cruises in straight sets past No. 20 Jiří Lehečka, setting up heavyweight matchup in semis
Carlos Alcaraz opened Tuesday's quarterfinal match at the US Open with a break of Jiří Lehečka's serve.
He did the same thing in the second. And he didn't drop a service game en route to a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 win over No 20 seed Jiří Lehečka. It added up to another dominant win for Alcaraz, who has yet to drop a set in five matches at the US Open.
With the win, the second-seeded Alcaraz advances to Friday's semifinal round, where he'll take part in a heavyweight matchup with a spot in the US Open final at stake. Alcaraz will take on the winner of Tuesday's night's match between No. 4 seed American Taylor Fritz and No. 7 seed and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.
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Either matchup would gain the full attention of US Open fans. Djokovic has a 5-3 lifetime record against Alcaraz in a series that includes four Grand Slam meetings. Djokovic defeated Alcaraz in the final of the 2024 Olympics. Alcaraz has defeated Djkovoic twice in Grand Slam finals, both times at Wimbledon (2023, 2024).
Alcaraz is 3-0 in matchups with Fritz, including a semifinal victory in the Wimbledon semifinals this year. Fritz advanced to the US Open final in 2024 and remains USA's best hope of securing a men's Grand Slam championship since Andy Roddick won the US Open in 2003.
Whomever he faces, Alcaraz will be seeking his sixth Grand Slam championship at 22 years old and his second US Open title after securing his first in 2022. He'll enter Friday's semifinal on a tear.
Alcaraz has now won each of his five US Open matches in straight sets, with two of those wins coming against seeded players (No. 32 Luciano Darderi, third round). He's dropped just a single service game during the entire tournament.
Tuesday's win saw more of the same, as Alcaraz set the tone with early breaks in each of the first two sets. After winning the first set, he fended off Lehečka's best shot at a break in the second with a sensational drop shot that at first looked out of his reach while trailing 30-15.
Carlos Alcaraz you CANNOT do that. 😳@usopen#USOpenpic.twitter.com/eT5SP8X6ya
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) September 2, 2025
He rallied to win the point to take a 4-2 lead. He then broke Lehečka again to take a 5-2 lead before successfully serving for the set.
Lehečka remained on serve early in the third. But Alcaraz was inevitable. Alcaraz secured his first break of the third set to take a 5-4 lead and serve for the match. At that point, Alcaraz had won 67 of 68 service games at the US Open.
He made it 68 out of 69 while shutting Lehečka out on match point.
