Carlos Alcaraz fires 28 winners in 3-set U.S. Open quarterfinal victory over Jiri Lehecka

Carlos Alcaraz finger-wagged the crowd, beat Jiri Lehecka to the net and cruised into the semifinals at the U.S. Open.

The second-seeded Spaniard beat Lehecka 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, making some highlight-reel shots and putting his hand to his ear afterward to encourage more cheers from fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium. It's his first hard-court semifinal appearance at a major since winning his first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open in 2023.

"I kind of met the Grand Slam version of Carlos," Lehecka said from New York City. "He just showed that he is one of the contenders, for sure. Everyone knew that, and he proved that."

Alcaraz is just 22 years old and is in the semifinals at a major for the ninth time. Only Rafael Nadal with 10 has more before turning 23.

Next up for Alcaraz is either Taylor Fritz or Novak Djokovic, who knocked him out of the Australian Open in the quarterfinals. Alcaraz would supplant Jannik Sinner. whom he lost to in the Wimbledon final and beat in the French Open final, atop the rankings if he wins the U.S. Open for a second time.

"It's really difficult not to think about it," Alcaraz said. "Every time that I step on the court, I am trying not to think about it. If I think about the No. 1 spot too much, I think I'm going to put pressure on myself and I just don't want to do that. I just want to step on the court, try to do my things, try to follow my goals in the match and try to enjoy as much as I can. The No. 1 is there, but I'm trying not to think so much about it."

Before facing Fritz or Djokovic on Friday night, Alcaraz plans to play golf Wednesday with 2017 Masters champion Sergio Garcia. He thinks his countryman owes him more than a few strokes.

"He has to give me at least between 10 and 15 shots," Alcaraz said. "It's going to be great. I'm not that good, Sergio, come on."

Jessica Pegula broke through her quarterfinal wall again at the U.S. Open, defeating Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 6-3 to get to the semifinals at a Grand Slam tournament for just the second time in her career.

Pegula failed to advance into the semis in her first 22 main draw appearances at a major before reaching the final at Flushing Meadows a year ago, when she lost to Aryna Sabalenka, and has since been eliminated in the fourth round at the Australian Open, the third round at the French Open and the first round at Wimbledon.

Being back on hard courts at the U.S. Open has been a recipe for success. She has not yet lost a set.

"I think I've been playing some really good tennis," Pegula said. "I've just been playing very solid. I've been having very good quick starts, so I really wanted to do that today, especially against someone like [Krejcikova] who's very dangerous."

Sabalenka, now the top-ranked women's tennis player in the world, could be Pegula's next opponent if she beats Marketa Vondrousova in their match on Tuesday night. That's also at Arthur Ashe Stadium, where Pegula made quick work of Krejcikova.

"It's crazy to look now and think that I'm really comfortable coming out here playing on big courts in big matches on the best court in the world with the craziest crowd against the best players," Pegula said. "It's pretty crazy, and it's something 10 years ago I never thought I'd be good at this, but I guess I am."

Pegula, 31, is seeded fourth at the U.S. Open and aiming for her first Grand Slam championship. She and No. 8 Amanda Anisimova are the only Americans left in the women's singles field.

Krejcikova knocked out one of them, Taylor Townsend, who failed to convert eight match points when they met in the quarterfinals on Sunday. Pegula was not perfect, but she played well enough to stay in control at all times and broke Krejcikova one final time to end the match in under 90 minutes, on her first match point attempt.

Venus Williams and Leylah Fernandez are set to play in the women's doubles quarterfinals. Sabalenka's match is set for Tuesday night, followed by American Taylor Fritz against four-time U.S. Open champion Novak Djokovic

Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada and Alex de Minaur of Australia open the action on Ashe at 11:30 a.m. ET, followed by Anisimova against second-seeded Iga Swiatek, scheduled for 1:10 p.m. Naomi Osaka, fresh off beating Coco Gauff, faces Karolina Muchova to open the night session at 7, followed by men's No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner against fellow Italian Lorenzo Musetti at 8:10.

Drake is betting big on Jannik Sinner, wagering $300,000 US on the top-ranked men's tennis player in the world to win the U.S. Open.

The Canadian rapper known for placing big bets on sporting events, and often losing them, posted on social media the screenshot of a betting slip from Tuesday afternoon. The six-figure gamble pays $507,000 if Sinner captures his fifth major championship and second at the U.S. Open.

The so-called Drake Curse has been blamed for several losses over the past few years, including $210,000 on American Taylor Fritz to beat Sinner in the 2024. U.S. Open final. According to a website tracking Drake's announced bets and the curse, he is down $115,000 on tennis after cutting his losses by successfully picking Sinner to win the Australian Open final in January.

Sinner is in the quarterfinals after routing Alexander Bublik in their fourth-round match. The 24-year-old next faces fellow Italian Lorenzo Musetti and is the betting favourite on BetMGM Sportsbook.