The Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest player in the Open era to reach the men’s quarterfinals at the Flushing Meadows. The 18-year-old beat Germany’s Peter Gojowczyk with 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 6-0.
Gojowczyk played the fourth round of a major for the first time ever. He is 14 years older than Alcaraz who made a bright start to edge him in the first set. However, Gojowczyk was hampered midway through the fourth set by an injury to his thigh and took a medical tmeout.
With a bagel in the decider, Alcaraz baselined the German, sealing the victory in three hours and 31 minutes when his opponent was sent a forehead sailing long. He smashed seven aces and 35 winners while winning 15 points at the net. He said that in the first set he thought that he reached his limit physically and mentally and believes the crowd was extremely important to him in this situation.
According to the US statistics, Alcaraz is 18 years and four months old and is eight days younger than Andre Agassi who reached the 1988 US Open quarter-finals and semi-finals. He is also the youngest to reach this stage in New York after Brazilian Thomaz Koch in 1963.
