Alcaraz and Sabalenka advance as Williams sisters fall in US Open return
The defending singles champions reached the last 16, while Serena and Venus Williams were beaten in a three-hour doubles contest.
Defending US Open singles champions Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka have reached the tournament’s last 16, while Serena and Venus Williams lost their first Grand Slam doubles match together since 2022.
Alcaraz defeated China’s Wu Yibing 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 and will meet American 20th seed Tommy Paul for a place in the quarter-finals. Paul advanced by defeating Alexander Bublik in five sets.
Sabalenka beat Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3, 6-4 without facing a break point, hitting 29 winners and 10 aces. She next faces American Taylor Townsend and must defend her title to have a chance of retaining the world number-one ranking.
Sabalenka also complained to the umpire about the smell of marijuana coming from the stands during the match, saying it was difficult to handle while competing.
The Williams sisters were beaten 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (10/7) by Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Australia’s Maya Joint in a three-hour contest. The sisters led 5-0 in the deciding 10-point tie-break before Chan and Joint recovered to win.
Serena and Venus Williams have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles and three Olympic gold medals together. Other singles winners included Jessica Pegula, Marta Kostyuk, Emma Navarro, Frances Tiafoe, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Ben Shelton, according to Al Jazeera Global News.
