Carlos Alcaraz to face Novak Djokovic in the US Open semifinals. Jessica Pegula meets Sabalenka

NEW YORK (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz finger-wagged the crowd, beat Jiri Lehecka to the net and cruised into the semifinals at the U.S. Open.

The second-seeded Spaniard beat Lehecka 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, making some highlight-reel shots and putting his hand to his ear afterward to encourage more cheers from fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium. It's his first hard-court semifinal appearance at a major since winning his first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open in 2023.

“I kind of met the Grand Slam version of Carlos,” Lehecka said. “He just showed that he is one of the contenders, for sure. Everyone knew that, and he proved that.”

Alcaraz is just 22 years old and is in the semifinals at a major for the ninth time. Only Rafael Nadal with 10 has more before turning 23.

Next up for Alcaraz is Novak Djokovic, the 24-time Grand Slam champion who knocked him out of the Australian Open quarterfinals in January and beat him for the gold medal at the Paris Olympics last year.

Djokovic got past Taylor Fritz 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 at night.

Alcaraz would supplant Jannik Sinner — whom he lost to in the Wimbledon final and beat in the French Open final — atop the rankings if he wins the U.S. Open for a second time.

“It’s really difficult not to think about it,” Alcaraz said. “Every time that I step on the court, I am trying not to think about it. If I think about the No. 1 spot too much, I think I’m going to put pressure on myself and I just don’t want to do that. I just want to step on the court, try to do my things, try to follow my goals in the match and try to enjoy as much as I can. The No. 1 is there, but I’m trying not to think so much about it.”

Before facing Fritz or Djokovic on Friday night, Alcaraz plans to play golf Wednesday with 2017 Masters champion Sergio Garcia. He thinks his countryman owes him more than a few strokes.

“He has to give me at least between 10 and 15 shots,” Alcaraz said. “It's going to be great. I'm not that good, Sergio, come on.”

On the women's side, Jessica Pegula broke through her quarterfinal wall again at the U.S. Open, defeating Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 6-3 to get to the semifinals at a Grand Slam tournament for just the second time in her career.

She failed to advance into the semis in her first 22 main draw appearances at a major before reaching the final at Flushing Meadows a year ago, when she lost to Aryna Sabalenka. They'll meet again in the semifinals on Thursday after Sabalenka advanced in a walkover when Marketa Vondrousova withdrew because of injury.

“My biggest accomplishment last year was just getting past the quarterfinals,” Pegula said. “Now I can say I’ve done it twice.”

Pegula, who was eliminated in the fourth round at the Australian Open, the third round at the French Open and the first round at Wimbledon, is the first woman to make back-to-back U.S. Open semifinals without losing a set since Serena Williams from 2011-14.

“I’ve been able to kind of go into those matches and really take care of business,” Pegula said. “I’ve played good players but (gotten) convincing wins over those players.”

Pegula, 31, is seeded fourth at the U.S. Open and aiming for her first Grand Slam championship. She and No. 8 Amanda Anisimova are the only Americans left in the women's singles field.

Krejcikova knocked out one of them, Taylor Townsend, who failed to convert eight match points when they met in the quarterfinals on Sunday. Pegula was not perfect, but she played well enough to stay in control at all times and broke Krejcikova one final time to end the match in under 90 minutes — on her first match point attempt.

“She had a couple really good returns when I was serving at 4-1," Pegula said. “We all saw what she did against Taylor, so I was happy that we’re done.”

Venus Williams and Leylah Fernandez lost to the top-seeded pair of Townsend and Katerina Siniakova 6-1, 6-2 in the women's doubles quarterfinals, ending the 45-year-old Williams' first Grand Slam tournament in two years.

Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada and Alex de Minaur of Australia kick things off on Ashe, followed by Anisimova against second-seeded Iga Swiatek. Naomi Osaka, fresh off beating Coco Gauff, faces Karolina Muchova to open the night session, followed by men's No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner against fellow Italian Lorenzo Musetti.

This story has been corrected to show that Pegula failed to advance into the semifinals of her first 22 majors, not 23, dating to her trip to the 2024 U.S Open final.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Venus Williams, of the United States, acknowledges the crowd after losing quarterfinal doubles match with parter Leylah Fernandez, of Canada, at the U.S. Open tennis championships, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, shakes hands with Taylor Fritz, of the United States, after winning the match during the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, reacts after defeating Jiri Lehecka, of the Czech Republic, during the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, returns a shot to Jiri Lehecka, of the Czech Republic, during the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, reacts after scoring a point against Jiri Lehecka, of the Czech Republic, during the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, returns a shot to Jiri Lehecka, of the Czech Republic, during the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Jessica Pegula, of the United States, returns a shot to Barbora Krejcikova, of the Czech Republic, during the quarterfinal round of the US Open tennis championships, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Jessica Pegula, of the United States, reacts after defeating Barbora Krejcikova, of the Czech Republic, during the quarterfinal round of the US Open tennis championships, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Jessica Pegula, of the United States, returns a shot to Barbora Krejcikova, of the Czech Republic, during the quarterfinal round of the US Open tennis championships, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Jessica Pegula, of the United States, reacts after defeating Barbora Krejcikova, of the Czech Republic, during the quarterfinal round of the US Open tennis championships, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.

The U.S. Coast Guard boarded the tanker, named Veronica, early Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media. The ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean,” she said.

U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding as in previous raids. The military said the ship was seized “without incident.”

Several U.S. government social media accounts posted brief videos that appeared to show various parts of the ship’s capture. Black-and-white footage showed at least four helicopters approaching the ship before hovering over the deck while armed troops dropped down by rope. At least nine people could be seen on the deck of the ship.

The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.

The Veronica last transmitted its location on Jan. 3 as being at anchor off the coast of Aruba, just north of Venezuela’s main oil terminal. According to the data it transmitted at the time, the ship was partially filled with crude.

Days later, the Veronica became one of at least 16 tankers that left the Venezuelan coast in contravention of the quarantine that U.S. forces have set up to block sanctioned ships, according to Samir Madani, the co-founder of TankerTrackers.com. He said his organization used satellite imagery and surface-level photos to document the ship movements.

The ship is currently listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that moves cargoes of oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.

According to its registration data, the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, owned and managed by a company in Russia. In addition, a tanker with the same registration number previously sailed under the name Pegas and was sanctioned by the Treasury Department for being associated with a Russian company moving cargoes of illicit oil.

As with prior posts about such raids, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”

Speaking to reporters at the White House later Thursday, Noem declined to say how many sanctioned oil tankers the U.S. is tracking or whether the government is keeping tabs on freighters beyond the Caribbean Sea.

“I can’t speak to the specifics of the operation, although we are watching the entire shadow fleet and how they’re moving,” she told reporters.

But other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear they see the actions as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.

Trump met with executives from oil companies last week to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.

Associated Press writer Ben Finley contributed to this report.

This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro’s capture and the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, not the Galileo.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)