Carlos Alcaraz dominated Jiri Lehecka in the US Open quarterfinals on Wednesday, taking only one hour and 56 minutes to book his spot in the final four as he continues his pursuit of a first hard-court Grand Slam title since 2022.
The 22-year-old Spaniard produced a dominant 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 victory, reaching the semifinals in New York without losing a set.
Alcaraz has been the most impressive player on Tour this year, with a season-high 59 wins and six titles in 2025, as per the ATP Win/Loss Index. He is set to break his career-high marks of 65 victories and six championships from 2023.
This is his first semifinal since the 2023 US Open at a hard-court Slam. In the next round, he will face either four-time winner Novak Djokovic or last year's runner-up Taylor Fritz.
The fight for the World No. 1 ranking also hangs in the balance in New York. If Alcaraz is able to match or surpass defending champion Jannik Sinner's performance, he will return to the PIF ATP Rankings summit for the first time since September 2023.
“If I think about the No. 1 spot too much, I’m going to put pressure on myself, and I just don’t want to do that. I just want to step on court, try to do my things, follow my goals and try to enjoy as much as I can. The No. 1 [spot] is there, but I try to not think about it too much," Alcaraz said.
For Lehecka, who started the tournament outside the Top 20, the week is a landmark. With a career-high of World No. 21 before this week, his solid performance guarantees that he will enter the Top 20 when the new rankings are out.
"Today I kind of met the Grand Slam version of Carlos. That's the way how I would like to think about it, because yeah, it's been difficult match.
"Carlos, he just showed that he is one of the contenders for sure. Everyone knew that, and he proved that today as well, and the match was—I don't really think that it was bad performance from my side. I felt quite okay, but I think that the most important things which he needed to do, he did better than me," Lehecka said in his post-match press conference.
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