Day 6 of the 2025 US Open: Alcaraz delivers a bagel to Djokovic, breaking another record; three top women seeds upset

On August 29 local time, the 2025 US Open held third-round contests in the upper half of the women's singles and lower half of the men's singles. Alcaraz and Djokovic overcame minor difficulties to progress, hometown star Shelton retired due to injury, and three top-10 female seeds — Andreyeva, Paolini, and Navarro — were knocked out.

Djokovic

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Seeded 7th and four-time champion, Djokovic appeared in the Arthur Ashe night session, defeating former top-10 British player Norrie in four sets. Djokovic’s form is improving, firing 18 aces in the match, marking his best serving performance at the US Open. With this win, Djokovic set a new record for hardcourt Grand Slam victories, reaching 192 wins and surpassing Federer to hold first place in history.

However, the Serbian star struggled with a back injury during the match, causing some concern. He requested an off-court medical timeout before serving to close the first set and received treatment again during the first changeover in the second set, but showed little discomfort afterward. Djokovic will face German qualifier Struff for a spot in the quarterfinals; Struff upset 17th seed and local favorite Tiafoe in three sets.

Alcaraz

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Second seed Alcaraz took just 1 hour and 44 minutes to defeat 32nd seed Darderi in straight sets, earning his 80th Grand Slam victory. Alcaraz briefly paused for medical treatment due to discomfort in his right knee during the second set but then won seven consecutive games to seal the match. The Spaniard said the treatment was precautionary and that he currently feels fine. In the fourth round, Alcaraz will face French player Linderknech, who reached his first Grand Slam round of 16 by beating compatriot Bonzi in four sets.

Shelton

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Sixth seed Shelton unexpectedly withdrew in the third round due to injury. The American strained her shoulder near the end of the third set and took a medical timeout in the second game of the fourth set. She told her box that it was the worst pain she had ever experienced. After losing the fourth set 4-6 and leveling the match 2-2 with opponent Mannarino, Shelton decided to retire and was seen shedding tears on court. Shelton had just won her first Masters title in Toronto this month and was highly anticipated on home soil at the US Open. Her injury-forced exit means a potential quarterfinal showdown with Alcaraz will not happen. Mannarino will face 20th seed Lehečka in the fourth round, who swept Belgian player Collignon in straight sets.

Fritz

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Mahut

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Following the eliminations of Shelton and Tiafoe, last year’s finalist and top American Fritz remains the only U.S. man left in the bottom half of the draw. He advanced to the round of 16 by defeating qualifier Kym in four sets. Fritz will meet 21st seed Mahut in the fourth round, who also won in straight sets against qualifier Brownshaw.

Rybakina

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On the women's side, in a highly anticipated Grand Slam clash, 9th seed Rybakina lost only three games to decisively beat former champion Raducanu, reaching her first US Open round of 16 and advancing to the second week of all four majors for the first time. Rybakina will face fellow Grand Slam champion Vondroušová in the fourth round.

Vondroušová

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Krejčíková

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The "Czech duo" Vondroušová and Krejčíková shone on day six of the US Open, consecutively eliminating top-10 seeds Paolini and Navarro. Currently ranked No. 60, former Wimbledon champion Vondroušová defeated 7th seed Paolini 7-6(4), 6-1 in straight sets, improving their head-to-head to 2-0. Krejčíková battled Navarro in three sets, coming back from a set down to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, avenging her Wimbledon loss earlier this year. Navarro failed to defend her semifinal points from last year’s US Open, causing her ranking to drop further.

Townsend

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Krejčíková will face local player Townsend in the fourth round. Townsend caused an upset in the Arthur Ashe night session, defeating 5th seed Andreyeva 7-5, 6-2 in 76 minutes, advancing to the round of 16 at a Grand Slam for the first time in six years (since the 2019 US Open). Townsend is currently the world No. 1 in doubles and also upset 25th seed Ostapenko in the second round of singles. Her doubles partner Siniaková has already won her first-round match.

Sabalenka

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Pegula

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World No. 1 Sabalenka defeated 31st seed and former finalist Fernandez 6-3, 7-6(2), advancing further in her title defense. She improved her tiebreak record this year to 20 wins and 1 loss, becoming the first female player to reach 20 Grand Slam match wins in 2025. With 10 consecutive wins at this tournament, she has reached the US Open round of 16 for the fifth straight year. In the fourth round, she will face Spanish player Bucsa, who came from behind to beat 19th seed Mertens in three sets. Last year’s finalist and 4th seed Pegula defeated former world No. 1 Azarenka in straight sets, reaching the US Open round of 16 for the fourth consecutive year. Pegula will face compatriot Ann Li in the next round.

In the women's doubles first round, the Zhang/Shvedova pairing started strong, dropping only four games to advance to the second round. Last year, Zhang partnered with Meladze to finish runner-up in the US Open doubles; this year she aims to achieve even better results at Flushing Meadows. Yuan/Yu and Osorio narrowly defeated 15th seeds Mihalikova/Nikles in three sets to progress past the first round. Wang/Yafan and Aoyama Shuko upset 10th seeds, the cross-strait duo Jiang Xinyu/Zhan Haoqing, in three sets. Zheng Saisai/Zhu Lin lost in straight sets to Niculescu/Savastova, and Tang Qianhui/Santamaria were defeated by the British team Bolt/Katari, both pairs exiting in the first round.

Results from Day 6 of the 2025 US Open

Updated main draw brackets for the 2025 US Open singles events