NEW YORK (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz hit a behind-the-back shot at the U.S. Open to win a point in a 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-4 victory over Arthur Rinderknech on Sunday that made the Spaniard the youngest man in the Open era to reach 13 Grand Slam quarterfinals.
“Sometimes, I practice it. I'm not going to lie,” the No. 2-seeded Alcaraz said about the bit of wizardry he delivered in the first set. “But I mean, I don't practice it, like, too many times. Just in practice, if the opportunity is there, I will try. In the match, it's kind of the same. If I have the opportunity, why not?”
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Jiri Lehecka, of the Czech Republic, reacts after defeating Adrian Mannarino, of France, during the fourth round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, reacts after beating Arthur Rinderknech, of France, during the fourth round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, reacts during his match against Arthur Rinderknech, of France, in the fourth round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Arthur Rinderknech, of France, returns a shot against Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, during the fourth round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, reacts after winning the first set over Arthur Rinderknech, of France, during the fourth round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, reacts during his match against Arthur Rinderknech, of France, during the fourth round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
At 22 years and 3 months old, Alcaraz is about 6 months younger than Boris Becker was when he got to major quarterfinal No. 13.
Alcaraz’s opponent on Tuesday will be No. 20 Jiri Lehecka, a 23-year-old from the Czech Republic. Lehecka advanced to his second Slam quarterfinal with a 7-6 (4), 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 win over Adrian Mannarino.
Early on against Rinderknech, a Frenchman who played college tennis at Texas A&M, Alcaraz closed a love hold that made the score 2-all in spectacular fashion. Moving to his right at midcourt, Alcaraz found himself in what appeared to be a bad spot when Rinderknech wrong-footed him.
But Alcaraz wrapped his racket around his body and flicked a shot up the line ( see it here ).
Perhaps startled that the point wasn’t over, Rinderknech hit a volley that landed in the net. A big smile crossed Alcaraz’s face as he looked over at his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, in the stands. Alcaraz then placed his right index finger behind his ear, as if acknowledging the spectators’ cheers.
“The people like it; I like playing tennis like this,” Alcaraz said. “My style of tennis fits pretty well to the energy here.”
Alcaraz wound up taking that set in a tiebreaker. Then, midway through the second, Alcaraz produced another highlight-worthy effort with a no-look passing winner, racing forward to get to a short ball and glancing down the line as though he was going to hit to Rinderknech’s backhand, but instead steering a forehand cross-court.
By the last game, even Rinderknech was smiling at other next-level strokes by Alcaraz, who has won 54 of 55 service games through four matches this year at Flushing Meadows. He claimed the title here in 2022 for the first of his five Grand Slam trophies.
Alcaraz is into his fourth major quarterfinal of 2025, the first time in his career he's gone 4 for 4 in that category in a season. He lost to Novak Djokovic at that stage at the Australian Open in January, won the French Open in June and lost to No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the final at Wimbledon in July.
Rinderknech was appearing in the fourth round of a major for the first time.
Jiri Lehecka, of the Czech Republic, reacts after defeating Adrian Mannarino, of France, during the fourth round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, reacts after beating Arthur Rinderknech, of France, during the fourth round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, reacts during his match against Arthur Rinderknech, of France, in the fourth round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Arthur Rinderknech, of France, returns a shot against Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, during the fourth round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, reacts after winning the first set over Arthur Rinderknech, of France, during the fourth round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, reacts during his match against Arthur Rinderknech, of France, during the fourth round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
MADRID (AP) — Pope Leo XIV urged Spaniards on Saturday to stop “fanning the flames of polarization” as he arrived in Spain at a moment of political turmoil for the Socialist-led government and a credibility crisis for the Catholic Church.
The American pope, who has Spanish ancestors, traveled to Spain dozens of times as a priest, but this is the first visit by a pope in 15 years. It signals Leo is returning papal attention to Europe’s Christian roots after Pope Francis largely stayed away from the traditional centers of Christianity in favor of smaller Catholic communities farther away.
Leo is seemingly keen to bring his message of peace, unity and human dignity to a continent sorely polarized over migration, Russia’s war in Ukraine and anxiety over artificial intelligence.
The pope opened his weeklong trip in Madrid, greeted at the airport by the country’s Catholic monarchs, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. He told reporters, while traveling, that he was particularly heartened by reports of a spiritual awakening among young people in the once-staunchly Catholic but now secularized country.
During his welcome address, Leo appealed to Spaniards, especially political leaders, to put polemics aside and invest in educating young people to appreciate diversity and complexity rather than shunning them.
“Today, the temptation to gain popularity by fanning the flames of polarization seems to have grown rather than diminished, and human dignity continues to be violated,” Leo said.
He appealed to Spain’s place at the heart of Christian Europe to serve as a model for the rest of the continent, while also recalling the country's 800-year Moorish past, when cities like Toledo and Córdoba became, he said, “centers of dialogue between languages, religions and knowledge.”
“For the love of truth, I invite everyone to set aside the divisive and polarizing narratives of your societal reality and history,” he said. Doing so will help Europe “overcome sterile simplifications through the fruitful appreciation of complexity.”
Spaniards find themselves increasingly divided over issues including immigration, feminism and political corruption, while historically it was riven by territorial and independence movements.
The highlight of Leo’s visit to Madrid will be his speech Monday to both chambers of the Spanish Parliament, the first by a pope. Such speeches are rare and often become one of the most important of a pontificate.
But Leo will find a highly polarized legislature, with the ruling Socialist party hammered by a series of corruption scandals. Conservative parties, including the Popular Party and far-right Vox, have called for Sánchez to step down before the 2027 elections and have roundly criticized his government’s migration policies.
Spain’s Socialist-led government has bucked a general trend in Europe and the United States by announcing it will grant legal status to potentially hundreds of thousands of immigrants living and working in the country without authorization. Sánchez has highlighted the benefits of legal migration to the country’s economy with an aging workforce and low birthrate.
Despite some expected protests of Leo’s visit, his speech to Parliament in particular is something of a milestone for Spain’s Catholic Church. Shaped by the anticlerical violence of the country’s 1936-1939 civil war, more recently, it has dealt with a credibility crisis over revelations of decades of clergy abuse and cover-up.
While much of Europe has secularized in recent decades, Spain stands out after it underwent a religious crisis following the 1975 death of Gen. Francisco Franco. A staunch Catholic, Franco viewed his reign as something of a religious crusade against the anticlerical anarchist, leftist and secular tendencies in Spain.
As Spain transitioned to a democracy, the percentage of Spaniards who declared themselves Catholics fell from 90% in the 1970s to just 55% in 2025, according to polling data collected by Spain’s state opinion agency. Of that group, only 19% say they regularly attend Mass.
And yet there are signs of renewed interest in all forms of spirituality, Christian and otherwise, especially among young Spaniards, said sociologist Narciso Michavila Núñez, president of the GAD3 consulting firm that polls young people about their faith, among other things.
In recent surveys, he said, pollsters are registering newfound interest in faith among Gen Z Spaniards. Michavila and others cite the popularity of Spanish pop star Rosalía’s new hit album “Lux,” which is overtly spiritual.
“The truth from a common view is not that God is in fashion. What is new in this moment, in this visit of the pope, is that God in the Spanish society is not a tattoo anymore,” he said.
Leo’s face has been plastered across subway cars, billboards and ads in metro stations in the Spanish capital, and souvenir shops are selling magnets of Leo and other papal knickknacks. Bakeries are selling limited-edition pope cakes and pastries.
Leo pointed to the signs of a spiritual awakening in comments to reporters en route to Madrid. But he also acknowledged he is facing stiff competition from Bad Bunny, who is holding two concerts this weekend.
“If they are confronted with the question ‘Do you want to go see Bad Bunny or do you want to go to see the pope?’ I think many will see Bad Bunny,” Leo said. “But I think there will also be a few here to see the pope. And that says something, you know.”
In a sign that the clergy sexual abuse crisis continues to overshadow papal trips, the Vatican confirmed late Friday that Leo would meet with survivors during his visit. The Spanish Catholic hierarchy is belatedly reckoning with decades of abuse and cover-up in the once-staunchly Catholic country.
Leo acknowledged he could only meet with a few, telling reporters that “abuses are still an open wound.”
After Madrid, the other highlights of the trip include Leo’s visit midweek to Barcelona, where he will celebrate Mass in the Sagrada Familia basilica on the centenary of the death of its famed architect, Antoni Gaudí.
Leo will also fulfill a wish of Francis by ending his visit with a two-day stop in the Canary Islands, the Spanish archipelago closer to Africa than the Iberian Peninsula and a key destination for migrants leaving West Africa.
Leo will meet with migrants and the humanitarian organizations providing care for them. He is expected to toss a wreath of flowers into the sea, in memory of migrants killed during the treacherous Atlantic crossing. He’ll do so from the port in Las Palmas that in 2020 earned the nickname the “Dock of Shame” because thousands of migrants were forced to sleep in the open for weeks on end during a spike in arrivals.
Francis had made reaching out to migrants and refugees a hallmark of his papacy and Leo has followed suit by demanding dignified treatment of migrants, especially in his native U.S.
“For those of us who are immigrants and find ourselves in this situation of having family far away, someone like the Pope — who is an important figure for the entire world — coming here is truly something that makes me say ‘wow,’” said Constantina Nchama, an immigrant from Equatorial Guinea.
“It’s something that happens once in a lifetime,” she said. “I’m very, very excited about that, truly.”
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Pope Leo XIV is welcomed by Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, as he arrives at the Royal Palace in Madrid, Saturday, June 6, 2026, on the first day of his seven-day apostolic journey to mainland Spain and the Canary Islands. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Leo XIV is welcomed by Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, as he arrives at the Royal Palace in Madrid, Saturday, June 6, 2026, on the first day of his seven-day apostolic journey to mainland Spain and the Canary Islands. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Leo XIV arrives at Madrid's Adolfo Suarez International Airport, Saturday, June 6, 2026, as he starts a seven-day apostolic journey to mainland Spain and the Canary Islands. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Leo XIV is welcomed by Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia upon his arrival at Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas International Airport in Madrid, Saturday, June 6, 2026, marking the start of his seven-day apostolic journey to mainland Spain and the Canary Islands. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pilgrims walk through Madrid ahead of Pope Leo XIV's visit to Spain, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Pope Leo XIV talks to journalists aboard the papal flight from Rome to Madrid, Saturday, June 6, 2026, on the occasion of his apostolic journey to Spain. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, Pool)
Visitors pose for photos beside a sign bearing the name of Pope Leo XIV in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Visitors pose for photos next to a sign bearing the name of Pope Leo XIV in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Pope Leo XIV arrives at Adolfo Suarez-Madrid Barajas Airport in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, June 6, 2026, at the start of a seven-day pastoral visit to mainland Spain and the Canary Islands. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Pope Leo XIV waves as he leaves after his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Pope Leo XIV waves as he leaves after his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
FILE - Migrants disembark at the port of "La Estaca" in Valverde on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Aug. 26, 2024. Emergency services said the migrants arrived by boat after a 13-day voyage from Senegal. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena, File)
Antoni Gaudí's Basilica of the Sagrada Familia stands at dusk in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, May 30, 2026, ahead of Pope Leo XIV's visit to Barcelona in June. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Pope Leo XIV waves as he leaves after his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
