Carlos Alcaraz made light work of Tommy Paul on his way to the US Open quarter-finals as he reached the last eight at Flushing Meadows in two hours and 21 minutes. 

Alcaraz dominated from start to finish during his impressive 6-3 6-4 6-3 win, with either Stefanos Tsitsipas or eighth seed Ben Shelton awaiting him in the next round. 

The Spaniard was forced to be patient during a competitive first set, with neither player giving up a break point as a potential tie-break loomed.

However, Alcaraz was able to get the better of Paul's serve in the 10th game, converting his second set point, and he carried his momentum into the second set.

The pair traded breaks of serve before Alcaraz got another to his name to surge into a 4-1 lead, with the second seed then missing six opportunities to break once again. 

But Alcaraz pulled himself further clear after finding a way past Paul's serve in the third set, breaking in the third game to put himself on the cusp of progressing. 

Paul's two missed break opportunities in the 10th game were ruthlessly punished by Alcaraz, who booked his spot in the next round when the American saw his return hit the net. 

"I played my game. I tried to play my style," Alcaraz said in his on-court interview. "Tommy is such a talented player.

"His shots are pretty dangerous and sometimes it is really difficult to control the ball when it comes to you. I just tried to be ready for a battle and tried to be aggressive all the time.

"I tried not to let him stay [high up] on the court and I think I did pretty well to put so much pressure on return games, which for me helped a lot to play relaxed, to play calm and think clearly. I'm really happy with the performance today."

Moving On! @carlosalcaraz defeats Paul 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 to book a place in the quarter-finals @carlosalcaraz #USOpen pic.twitter.com/Gvg4QSehal

— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 6, 2026

Alcaraz not hanging around in quest for US Open glory

Having been forced to withdraw from the French Open and Wimbledon through injury, Alcaraz is certainly making up for lost time in New York, and he will be confident he can add another US Open title to his name this time around. 

Following his win, only Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer (86.82%) now have a higher winning ratio than Alcaraz (86.79%) in men's singles hard court majors in the Open Era, surpassing Pete Sampras.

In addition, among players to begin their career in the Open Era, only Jimmy Connors (20) has taken fewer main draw appearances at men's singles majors than Alcaraz (21) to reach 15 quarter-finals in such events.

Alcaraz has gone on to at least reach the final in five of the six previous ATP-level events where he defeated Paul, with Miami in 2023 being the only exception, so he will be hoping his latest triumph will be a good omen for the rest of the tournament.