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Alcaraz Beats Wu to Extend His US Open Title Defence
Carlos Alcaraz defeated Wu Yibing 6 3, 6 4, 6 1 to reach the 2026 US Open fourth round and extend his personal best Grand Slam winning streak to 17 matches. Alcaraz next plays 20th seed Tommy Paul, who needed five sets to beat Alexander Bublik.
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Key takeaways
- Carlos Alcaraz defeated Wu Yibing 6 3, 6 4, 6 1 to reach the 2026 US Open fourth round and extend his personal best Grand Slam winning streak to 17 matches.
- Alcaraz next plays 20th seed Tommy Paul, who needed five sets to beat Alexander Bublik.
- The defending champion says his recovery has exceeded expectations, but his four month wrist layoff has also reinforced his intention to take selective one or two month breaks in future seasons.
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openai.comCreate a landscape editorial hero image for this Studio Global article: How did defending US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz defeat China’s Wu Yibing 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 to reach the 2026 fourth round after a four-month l. Article summary: Alcaraz prevailed by absorbing Wu’s high-tempo, big-hitting game, staying aggressive and making smarter choices in the crucial points. The 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 score flattered him somewhat: he lost an early break lead in each o. Topic tags: general, news, general web. Style: premium digital editorial illustration, source-backed research mood, clean composition, high detail, modern web publication hero. Use reference image context only for broad subject, composition, and topical grounding; do not copy the exact image. Avoid: logos, brand marks, copyrighted characters, real person likenesses, fake screenshots, UI text, readable text, watermarks, charts with fake numbers
Carlos Alcaraz’s US Open title defence gathered momentum with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 win over China’s Wu Yibing. The result sent the defending champion into the fourth round and extended his personal-best Grand Slam match-winning streak to 17.
The scoreline suggests a routine afternoon, but it was a more complex test than the final margin implies. Wu attacked with freedom and pace, forcing Alcaraz to manage pressure before the Spaniard’s superior consistency and point-by-point decision-making created a decisive third-set separation.
Why Wu made the match uncomfortable
Wu’s game presented a different kind of challenge: he hit hard from both wings and was prepared to take risks. That approach gave him opportunities to disrupt Alcaraz’s rhythm, even if it also produced errors over the course of the match.
Alcaraz did not have the opening two sets entirely under control. He was broken twice across the match, and the contest was still competitive at key stages before the second seed steadily took away Wu’s margin for attack.
The clearest sign of the match’s true tension came at the start of the third set. Wu created two break points in Alcaraz’s opening service game, but Alcaraz held firm. From there, the Spaniard moved through the final set 6-1.
The statistics behind the 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 result
The headline numbers show why Alcaraz ultimately pulled clear:
- Score: Alcaraz won 6-3, 6-4, 6-1.
- Grand Slam streak: The victory was his 17th consecutive major match win, a personal best.
- Break points: Alcaraz converted 7 of 15 break-point chances; Wu converted 2 of 7.
- Errors and winners: Wu finished with 12 winners and 39 unforced errors, while Alcaraz had 21 winners and 33 unforced errors.
- Service pressure: Alcaraz won 69% of first-serve points and 50% of second-serve points.
Those figures capture the trade-off in Wu’s strategy. His ball-striking could pressure the defending champion, but Alcaraz generated more opportunities on return and was better able to sustain his level as rallies and games accumulated.
A comeback that is ahead of schedule
The win came shortly after Alcaraz returned from more than four months out with a right-wrist injury. The injury, sustained in April, kept him out of the French Open and Wimbledon and made the US Open defence a major fitness question. 3
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After the Wu victory, Alcaraz said he was improving with each match and that his recovery had been better than he expected. His early results in New York have supported that assessment: he has reached the second week without being taken to five sets, while building competitive rhythm after the longest absence of his career. 9
That does not eliminate the uncertainty that comes with a recent wrist injury. It does, however, show that Alcaraz has been able to play aggressively and withstand meaningful pressure over his first three rounds.
Next up: Tommy Paul
Alcaraz will face 20th-seeded American Tommy Paul in the fourth round. Paul reached the matchup by beating 15th seed Alexander Bublik 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-3 in a match lasting more than three hours.
Alcaraz owns a 6-2 career head-to-head lead over Paul, including a straight-sets victory at the Australian Open earlier in 2026. BBC reported that Alcaraz has won their past six meetings.
Paul’s lengthy third-round win may leave him with less recovery time and physical freshness than Alcaraz, but a home opponent in the second week presents a substantially different challenge from Wu.
What has changed in Alcaraz’s title defence?
Alcaraz is attempting to become the first man since Roger Federer to defend the US Open title. Federer won five consecutive titles in New York from 2004 through 2008. 12
Several factors have strengthened Alcaraz’s position since the start of the tournament:
- His match sharpness is improving. He followed an injury comeback with three wins and has looked increasingly comfortable under pressure.
- His major-match form remains exceptional. The Wu victory extended his winning streak at Grand Slam level to 17.
- He has avoided an extended early-round battle. In contrast, Paul arrives after a five-set, three-plus-hour match against Bublik.
None of that makes the title defence straightforward. Alcaraz is still working back from a lengthy absence, and the latter stages of a major impose a different physical and tactical demand. But his performance against Wu offered further evidence that the wrist layoff has not removed him from the group of leading contenders.
Why Alcaraz wants longer breaks in future
The injury absence has also influenced how Alcaraz views the tennis calendar. He has said he intends to take longer breaks in future seasons—potentially one or two months and with selected tournaments skipped—because he does not believe it is possible to play every event.
His argument is practical rather than a call for another four-month stoppage: a packed schedule can contribute to fatigue and injuries, and planned rest may help protect a player’s body and sustain performance over a full career.
For now, the immediate evidence is encouraging. Alcaraz has turned a four-month layoff into a place in the US Open fourth round, with a 17-match major winning streak intact and a high-profile meeting with Paul next.
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What is the short answer to "Alcaraz Beats Wu to Extend His US Open Title Defence"?
Carlos Alcaraz defeated Wu Yibing 6 3, 6 4, 6 1 to reach the 2026 US Open fourth round and extend his personal best Grand Slam winning streak to 17 matches.
What are the key points to validate first?
Carlos Alcaraz defeated Wu Yibing 6 3, 6 4, 6 1 to reach the 2026 US Open fourth round and extend his personal best Grand Slam winning streak to 17 matches. Alcaraz next plays 20th seed Tommy Paul, who needed five sets to beat Alexander Bublik.
What should I do next in practice?
The defending champion says his recovery has exceeded expectations, but his four month wrist layoff has also reinforced his intention to take selective one or two month breaks in future seasons.