Eyes on them: Will Alcaraz and Sabalenka make it through the third round at the US Open?

The third round of the US Open begins today (Friday), featuring some of the biggest names the sport has to offer.

Men

Carlos Alcaraz (2), the defending champion, will try to continue shaking off the rust after dropping a set against his compatriot Jaime Faria in the second round. Now he faces China's Wu Yibing (113th in the world), who reached the third round without dropping a set and will try to dictate the pace with his aggressive tennis. The two have met once before, in Shanghai in 2024, where Alcaraz won 6:7, 3:6.

2021 champion Daniil Medvedev (7), who has yet to drop a set, wants to continue and get back to his best, but this time he faces a tougher hurdle in the form of Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech (26), who won the last meeting between the two and hopes to match his career-best achievement in Grand Slams.

Ben Shelton (8) will face Denis Shapovalov in one of the most intriguing matches of this stage. The local hope comes after a 3:6, 7:5, 6:7, 5:7 win over Hubert Hurkacz, while Shapovalov will hope to surprise and break a streak of four losses to Shelton.

Additional matches:

• Frances Tiafoe (11, USA) - Valentin Vacherot (22, Monaco)

• Alexander Bublik (15, Kazakhstan) - Tommy Paul (20, USA)

• Jiri Lehecka (18, Czech Republic) - Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece)

Women

Aryna Sabalenka (1) continues her pursuit of a third consecutive US Open title, after lifting the trophy in 2024 and 2025. Sabalenka cruised through the second round with a 1:6, 1:6 win over Polina Iatcenko and looks for now like the player to beat in New York. Kamilla Rakhimova of Uzbekistan (92nd in the world) will try to disrupt her rhythm and pull off a major upset, having lost to her in their three previous meetings.

Jessica Pegula (3), the 2024 runner-up, is still looking for her first career Grand Slam and looked good in the first two rounds. She will hope to also get past the meeting with Canadian Leylah Fernandez (31), who wants to get past the third round for the first time since 2021 (when she reached the final).

Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova (6) has never passed the third round and will hope to do so now, against local player Ann Li (29).

Additional matches:

• Karolina Muchova (7, Czech Republic) - Emma Navarro (26, USA)

• Elina Svitolina (9, Ukraine) - Anna Kalinskaya (21, Russia)

• Marta Kostyuk (11, Ukraine) - Ekaterina Alexandrova (18, Russia)

• Diana Shnaider (15, Russia) - Taylor Townsend (USA)