Alcaraz tops Sinner, advances to US Open semis

NEW YORK, Sept 08 (Reuters): Carlos Alcaraz saved a match point in the fourth set before digging deep in the decider to beat Jannik Sinner in a five-set thriller and reach the U.S. Open semi-finals in the early hours of Thursday in New York.

The Spanish teenager collapsed on his back after the match lasting more than five hours concluded at 2:50 a.m., beating the previous record for the latest finish of 2:26 a.m. set in three matches in 1993, 2012 and 2014.

The 6-3 6-7(7) 6-7(0) 7-5 6-3 win keeps alive Alcaraz's hopes of winning a maiden Grand Slam title and claiming the world number one ranking.

"Honestly I still don't know how I did it," Alcaraz said in an on-court interview. "The level that I played, the level of the match, the high quality of tennis.

"It's unbelievable."

Alcaraz put his finger to his ear in the fifth set after he raced across court to catch up with a Sinner drop shot and fired it past the Italian to set up break point, bringing fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium to their feet.