Teen Alcaraz sends Tsitipas packing

NEW YORK — Until now, 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz has exhibited enough promise and precociousness to make people think he eventually could succeed Rafael Nadal as Spain’s top tennis player. On Friday at the U.S. Open, with a fiveset victory over No. 3 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alcaraz showed why he’s been getting so much attention already.

Boosted by a rowdy Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd a tad tired of Tsitsipas’ penchant for taking lengthy breaks between sets, Alcaraz won 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 0-6, 7-6 (5) in just over four hours to become the youngest man in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows since Pete Sampras and Michael Chang in 1989.