Carlos Alcaraz played down concerns over a knee problem after racing through to the fourth round of the US Open.
The Spaniard called for the trainer late in the second set of his clash with Italy’s Luciano Darderi but then did not lose a single game, wrapping up a 6-2 6-4 6-0 victory in just an hour and 44 minutes.
Alcaraz took a medical timeout, with the trainer massaging his thigh, but showed no ill effects thereafter, and said: “I am feeling good.
“I just felt something that is not working good in the knee but after five, six points it was gone. I just called the physio as a precaution. I’m not worried about it.”
Alcaraz’s biggest concern ahead of the match was an unusually early start time for him of 11.30am – a big change from his previous two matches, which were in the night session.
“I just tried to start awake,” he said with a smile. “It’s a schedule I’m not used to playing so my first goal was to start well, with a good rhythm. I think I did pretty well and after that just keep it going.”
Alcaraz is yet to drop a set and will next take on unseeded Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, who ended the run of his countryman Benjamin Bonzi.
Bonzi followed up his first-round win over Daniil Medvedev, which hit the headlines after a spectacular meltdown from the Russian, with another five-set win but ran out of steam against Rinderknech.
Alcaraz’s draw was thrown wide open with the tearful retirement of sixth seed Ben Shelton.
The American, who went into the tournament with high hopes after winning the biggest tournament of his career in Canada earlier this month, struggled with a left shoulder injury against Adrian Mannarino.
Shelton received treatment early in the fourth set and pulled the plug after Mannarino made it two sets all, with his father and coach Bryan telling him to stop.
Mannarino had gone off court for a bathroom break when he learned of Shelton’s decision, the Frenchman saying: “I’m 37 years old, and it’s the first time that I’m winning a match from the toilets.”
Shelton left the court with tears in his eyes and a towel over his head, and the 22-year-old’s departure is a major blow both for American hopes and the tournament.
He was able to put the blow into perspective, saying: “I’ve got a lot to be grateful for. Been pretty fortunate with my life.
“A small setback like this, yeah, it hurts. I was playing really well, I was in form, a lot of confidence. Just so many things to be happy with the way that I was playing, moving on the court, competing.
“But it’s been a great summer, a lot of things to be thankful for. You won’t hear me over here pouting about how bad things are with the summer that I’ve had, the things that I’ve been able to do in this sport in a short amount of time and the people I got around me. A lot of blessings.”
Mannarino next faces 20th seed Jiri Lehecka, with the winner likely to meet Alcaraz in the quarter-finals.
Another big American hope also went out in the third round, with Frances Tiafoe beaten in straight sets by German veteran Jan-Lennard Struff.
The qualifier next faces Novak Djokovic and, along with the Serbian and Mannarino, it means three men aged 35 or over have reached the last 16 at a slam for the first time since the US Open in 1982.
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