He continued: “I just tried to start awake. Starting at 11:30 is something I’m not used to, so my first goal was to start well, focused, with energy and a good rhythm.
“I started pretty well, pushing him to the limit and trying to play long rallies. I played great tennis and I’m really proud about it.”
Alcaraz received treatment to his right knee and quadricep muscle while leading 5-4 in the second set, but he said afterwards that the discomfort soon disappeared and he was “not worried about it”.
He said: “I’m feeling good. I asked for the physio because when he broke my serve, on the last point I just felt something that was not working good in the knee.
“After five or six points, it was gone.”
After the medical time-out, Alcaraz broke serve in the very next game to move two sets up, before rattling quickly through the third set to complete victory.
Alcaraz won his first Grand Slam title at the US Open as a teenager in 2022 and is aiming to win his second major of the year after retaining his French Open crown in June.
He will return to the top of the world rankings if he matches or betters Jannik Sinner’s performance in New York.
His fourth-round opponent will be the unseeded Arthur Rinderknech, who is into the last 16 of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.
The world number 82 recovered from losing the first set to beat fellow Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi 4-6 6-3 6-3 6-2.
