Carlos Alcaraz's fairytale run to the quarter-finals at the US Open is a dream come true for the Spanish teenager.
Alcaraz became the youngest men's US Open quarter-finalist in the Open Era when he ousted Peter Gojowczyk 5-7 6-1 5-7 6-2 6-0 on Sunday.
The 18-year-old, who became the youngest man to defeat a top-three player at Flushing Meadows when he beat Stefanos Tsitsipas last week, is also the most junior male player at the New York grand slam since Thomaz Koch in 1963.
Similarly, Sunday's triumph made him the youngest men's singles quarter-finalist at any grand slam since Michael Chang (18) made the last eight at the 1990 French Open.
Alcaraz will now face another rising star – Felix Auger-Aliassime – for a place in the semi-finals.
"I'm super excited to be in my first second week in the grand slam, so it's amazing for me. It's a dream come true," an ecstatic Alcaraz told reporters.
"It's really tough to play these kinds of matches, to play fifth sets. I hope to play [in] more second weeks, to play more quarter-finals of grand slams.
"I didn't expect to play in the quarter-finals here, so I think it's a really good performance from me in these matches."
Dubbed as the heir to Rafael Nadal's thrown, Alcaraz has certainly had the crowd on his side during his run.
"In the first sets I thought that I reached my limit, physically and mentally. I think the crowd was really, really important for me in this situation," Alcaraz added.
"I felt the energy of the crowd pushing me up. I think without the crowd, it couldn't be possible to be here."
Alcaraz faces a stern test in the form of world number 15 Auger-Aliassime, who has reached his second straight grand slam quarter-final.
However, the 21-year-old Canadian – who is aiming to secure a maiden appearance in the last four of a major – knows the quality Alcaraz possesses.
"He's a great player. At some point age is just a number. He already feels like a player who's established," Auger-Aliassime said of Alcaraz.
"He's playing some amazing tennis, so I think we’ll see a lot of him, a lot of us, a lot of Frances [Tiafoe] in the future."
Medvedev's Italian Open title defence ended by Paul in Rome
Tommy Paul stunned defending champion Daniil Medvedev at the Italian Open on Tuesday.
Paul needed just one hour and 13 minutes to down Medvedev 6-1 6-4 to secure his first victory over a top-20 opponent and reach the quarter-finals.
Medvedev could not get going from the start, and was broken in all three of his service games in the opening set as Paul cruised into the lead.
And even after a brief resurgence at the start of the second set, Medvedev could not prevent his opponent from reeling off four successive games to pave the way for a memorable win.
Paul, who is into his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final on clay, will face Hubert Hurkacz for a place in the last four.
Data Debrief: Zverev brings up 10th Masters QF
While Medvedev crashed out, Alexander Zverev had no such trouble, as he claimed a straight sets win over Nuno Borges.
Zverev has now equalled Michael Chang in 10th place for the most quarter-finals made (28) in ATP Masters 1000 events since the format's introduction in 1990.
Former US Open champion Thiem misses out on Roland Garros wild-card invitation
Former US Open champion Dominic Thiem will have to fight for his place at the French Open after missing out on Tuesday's wild-card invitations.
Thiem will retire later this year due to a persistent wrist injury that has derailed his career but will likely need to battle through the qualifying rounds to appear at Roland Garros for a final time.
The two-time French Open semi-finalist is currently six places away from a main-draw spot for the upcoming major, with Richard Gasquet among the eight male players to secure a wild-card invitation.
Frenchman Gasquet will equal Feliciano Lopez's 21 tournaments at Roland Garros, the joint-most appearances of any player in the Open Era.
In the women's tournament, world number 99 Alize Cornet was also invited on a wild-card pick and will appear in a women's singles grand slam main draw for the 72nd time in her career.
That is the third most in the Open Era for major appearances, behind only Venus Williams (93) and Serena Williams (81).
Ten Hag confident over Fernandes stay despite reported Bayern interest in Man Utd star
Bruno Fernandes is reportedly drawing interest from Bayern Munich and Saudi Arabian clubs but Erik ten Hag remains confident the midfielder will stay at Manchester United.
The Portugal international, who joined the Red Devils from Sporting in January 2020, is said to be attracting attention from numerous clubs in the Saudi Pro League.
Bundesliga giants Bayern are also reportedly weighing up their options in attempting to sign Fernandes, though under-fire Ten Hag expects him to remain at Old Trafford.
When pressed at Tuesday's press conference on Fernandes' future, Ten Hag responded: "It is the same question as last week. So I answered.
"The same answer. Now in all the years he was, he was a tremendously important player for Manchester United and creating the most chances across the Premier League.
"So many assists, so many goals. It's clear he's a very important player for us."
Indeed, since his debut against Wolves on February 1, 2020, Fernandes leads United for chances created (644), goals (79) and assists (63) across all competitions.
In the same period, the 29-year-old also leads the way among Premier League players overall in chances created, ahead of Kevin De Bruyne (519), Trent Alexander-Arnold (424) and Pascal Gross (388).
Though Ten Hag is keen to keep Fernandes in Manchester, Raphael Varane has announced his intentions to leave the Red Devils at the end of the current season.
Casemiro is also said to be of interest in Saudi Arabia, where clubs are reportedly targeting moves for the likes of Mohamed Salah, De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku.
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