10 US Open Observations Heading Into the Fourth Round

The third round of the 2026 US Open is nearly complete, and we are starting to get a much better idea of who is actually ready to make a run in New York.

Friday gave us plenty to think about.

Carlos Alcaraz continues to cruise, Daniil Medvedev has quietly reached the second week without dropping a set, Stefanos Tsitsipas suddenly looks healthy again, and several Americans are playing some of their best tennis of the season.

We also got another reminder that sometimes the most interesting stories at a Grand Slam have very little to do with who is favored to win it.

Here are 10 observations heading into Saturday, Sept. 5, as part of our ongoing 2026 US Open coverage.

1. Iva Jovic Is a Terrible Matchup for Alex Eala

I wrote yesterday about Alex Eala becoming a box-office draw at this US Open.

Now she has a problem named Iva Jovic.

Jovic has already beaten Eala twice this season, once on clay at Roland Garros and again on grass at Queen’s. She also beat her in their one-set exhibition during US Open Fan Week.

Now they meet on a hard court, which might be Jovic’s best surface, Saturday night on Arthur Ashe.

Eala has a massive following, and she’s having a wonderful tournament.

But she hasn’t shown me that she can solve Jovic.

I think Jovic is going to whack the crap out of her.

2. Tommy Paul Might Finally Make Carlos Alcaraz Work

Carlos Alcaraz has looked terrific, and Friday’s 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 win over Yibing Wu was another relatively comfortable afternoon.

Tommy Paul should be different.

Paul survived Alexander Bublik in five sets and now gets Alcaraz in the fourth round. He’s beaten Alcaraz before, understands what it feels like to stand across the net from him, and most importantly, he believes he can beat him.

Paul also has the legs and defensive skills to make Alcaraz play more balls than anybody he’s faced so far.

I’m not predicting an upset.

I just have a feeling Tommy Paul is going to go to work on this kid.

3. Stefanos Tsitsipas Finally Looks Healthy Again

Maybe the Stefanos Tsitsipas resurgence isn’t that complicated.

Maybe he finally feels good.

Tsitsipas beat Jiri Lehecka in four sets Friday to reach the US Open fourth round for the first time in his career. He lost the opening set for the third consecutive match and then took over.

Patrick Mouratoglou is in his corner now, and I’m sure somebody will eventually try to explain all the ways Tsitsipas has been fixed.

I’m going with the simpler explanation.

Stefanos Tsitsipas has always been a damn good tennis player. He needed to get healthy.

Now he looks healthy again, and I’m genuinely happy to see it.

4. Watching Venus and Serena Williams Play Doubles Was Just Damn Cool

I remember Venus Williams and Serena Williams coming onto the tour as kids.

I remember Richard Williams telling everybody who would listen that his daughters were going to become No. 1 and No. 2 in the world.

God damn, he was right.

So whatever I’ve said about Venus playing singles at this stage of her career, watching those two together again Friday night was just cool.

They even led Maya Joint and Hao-Ching Chan 5-0 in the deciding match tiebreak before losing 6-3, 6-7(6), 7-6(10-7).

And how about Maya Joint? She’s 20 years old and has now beaten Serena in singles at Wimbledon and been on the winning side against the Williams sisters in New York.

Not a bad little story.

5. Tennis Needs to Rethink the Immediate Post-Match Press Conference

This Rafael Jodar press conference bothered me.

Jodar had just been hammered 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 by lucky loser Yunchaokete Bu. Then a reporter started asking the 19-year-old about his shoelaces breaking in previous matches and how people online might interpret whatever he said about his physical condition.

Jodar basically wanted to know what the hell the question was. I don’t blame him.

Why do we need to put players in front of microphones immediately after losses?

Make them available at a predetermined time the following morning. Give the player a night to process what happened and give reporters more time to formulate meaningful questions.

Maybe we’d get better answers.

We might even get better questions.

6. Nobody Is Talking About Daniil Medvedev

Daniil Medvedev is quietly having a tremendous US Open.

Three matches.

Nine sets.

Nine sets won.

Medvedev beat Arthur Rinderknech 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Friday and has now reached the second week in New York for the seventh time in eight years.

This is a guy who arrived at the US Open with almost no buzz.

Now we’re watching the former champion turn into the same annoying human backboard who has made life miserable for opponents on hard courts for years.

Maybe we should start talking about him.

7. Frances Tiafoe Is Playing With Intention

Frances Tiafoe isn’t playing with desperation anymore.

He’s playing with intention.

And his intention is to win this fucking tournament.

Tiafoe beat Valentin Vacherot in straight sets Friday night to reach the fourth round, where Daniil Medvedev is waiting.

His serve has improved. He’s attacking second serves. He’s making better decisions and I’m seeing fewer of those cute cross-court drop shots that used to drive me crazy.

This isn’t Tiafoe trying to manufacture something spectacular every five minutes.

He’s playing purposeful tennis.

And right now, he’s playing damn good tennis.

8. Taylor Townsend Deserves This Moment

Tay-Tay, baby.

Taylor Townsend beat Diana Shnaider 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-3 Friday and is into the fourth round of the US Open. Next up is Aryna Sabalenka.

Townsend has dealt with enough hurdles throughout her career that it’s impossible not to enjoy watching this.

We already know she’s one of the best doubles players in the world. Now she’s taking it to people in singles.

And don’t automatically dismiss her against Sabalenka.

Townsend returns extremely well; she isn’t going to be intimidated, and that New York crowd is going to be behind her.

Hopefully nobody brings any wacky tabacky into Louis Armstrong this time.

9. Emma Navarro Is Starting to Look Like Emma Navarro Again

It’s been a rough season for Emma Navarro.

That’s what made Friday so encouraging.

Navarro knocked off No. 7 Karolina Muchova 6-3, 7-5 and is suddenly into the fourth round.

After all the health issues and interruptions she’s dealt with this season, we’re finally starting to see stretches of the player who climbed into the Top 10.

She’s moving well. She’s competing. She’s making people uncomfortable again.

I don’t know how far this run goes.

But Emma Navarro looks like Emma Navarro again.

Good for her.

10. Anna Kalinskaya Is a Giant Killer

Anna Kalinskaya is a dog.

She beat Elina Svitolina 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 on Friday, and she absolutely took it to her in the deciding set.

But this isn’t some random upset.

According to OptaAce, Kalinskaya’s 45.5% win rate against Top 10 opponents since 1990 is the best of any player who has never reached the Top 10.

Think about that.

Her career-high ranking is No. 11, yet when one of the best players in the world is standing across the net, Kalinskaya keeps beating them.

She’s a giant killer.

Tremendous win for her.

We’ll see you Monday.

Final Thoughts

We’re officially getting to the good stuff.

The early rounds tell us who showed up ready to play. The second week tells us who actually believes they can win the tournament.

Alcaraz still looks like the man to beat, but Tommy Paul finally gives him an opponent who knows he can hurt him. Medvedev is lurking. Tsitsipas looks healthy. Tiafoe is playing with purpose.

On the women’s side, Townsend, Navarro and Kalinskaya are reminding everybody how dangerous the supposedly wrong name on the draw can be.

And we haven’t even finished the third round yet.

Saturday should be fun.