Overview

• Carlos Alcaraz, fresh off a straight‑sets win over Mattia Bellucci, opens Arthur Ashe against No. 32 seed Luciano Darderi in their first ATP‑level meeting at 17:30 CET, with the winner to face Benjamin Bonzi or Arthur Rinderknech.
• World No. 1 and defending champion Jannik Sinner beat Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 and will face Denis Shapovalov on Saturday, noting he is “chasing the title” and wants to raise his serving level.
• Lorenzo Musetti defeated David Goffin 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 to set an all‑Italian third‑round match with Flavio Cobolli, who outlasted Jenson Brooksby in 4½ hours; it will be their first meeting at tour level.
• Bookmakers strongly favor Alcaraz against Darderi, with reported short odds on a 3‑0 scoreline cited by major betting firms.
• Italian interest extends to the WTA draw as No. 7 Jasmine Paolini meets Marketa Vondrousova on the Grandstand, with US Open coverage carried live on SuperTennis and Sky platforms.