Carlos Alcaraz plays down injury scare after cruising past Lucas Darderi at US Open

The Spaniard cruised past Italian Darderi 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 to reach the last 32 at the New York event for the fourth time.

However, mid-way through the second set, Alcaraz began to touch his knee after a seemingly awkward service landing – displaying concerned looks to his team.

As would be expected, the five-time Grand Slam champion asked the umpire if he could take a medical timeout during the next changeover, before going on to receive a massage.

Alcaraz went on to break at 5-4, winning the final seven games of the match against Darderi.

"I'm feeling good," Alcaraz clarified during his post-match interview.

"It was just a precaution.

"I asked for the physio. I felt something that was not good in the knee, but after five or six points, it was gone.

"I just asked for the physio to take care of the knee because there was one serve left [in the second set] and I had to be ready, had to be good, had to feel good physically.

"It was a precaution. I will talk with my team but I'm not worried about it."

Alcaraz's third-round clash was his first day session at this year's US Open, starting at 11:30AM – a relatively early start, compared to most events.

Nevertheless, the Spaniard looked to continue his impressive form, having won 33 of his last 34 matches and not dropping a set at the US Open, so far.

"I tried to stay awake," Alcaraz joked.

"That was important.

"We started at 11:30 so it's good that I managed to play [my game]. My first goal was to start well, to start focused, with energy and a good rhythm, and I think I started pretty well. I pushed him to the limit.

"Tried to play long rallies and get a rhythm with the serve and return.

"And after that I just kept it going. Today I played such great tennis. It was such a great performance and I'm really proud about it.

"I'm not an early person so for me it's difficult to wake up in the morning. That was one of the good things about today. I woke up early, did my warm up. Played good."

Alcaraz will next play Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in the fourth round.

Rinderknech, most recently, defeated world No 3 Alexander Zverev 7-6(3), 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-4 in the first round of Wimbledon, and battled through a tough five-set battle against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in his second round match in New York.