Dominant! Zverev advances to US Open quarterfinals

The German delivered a show of force, especially in the first two sets. A Dutchman awaits as his next opponent.

Source text: © APA/LAOLA1

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Alexander Zverev confidently reached the quarterfinals of the US Open on Monday evening, presenting himself in championship form consistently for the first time.

The German French Open champion gave the long-overwhelmed Italian Luciano Darderi only a chance in the third set during their 6:2, 6:2, 7:6(7:3) match, relying especially on his strong serve.

At 11:47 PM local time (5:47 AM CEST), Zverev converted the match point in New York after 2 hours and 30 minutes of play. His previous three evening matches at this edition of the Grand Slam tournament in New York had each stretched well past midnight.

In this form, the 29-year-old can expect excellent chances for his first US Open final since 2020.

A big name would only await in the final

Both quarterfinal opponent Botic van de Zandschulp from the Netherlands and potential semifinal contenders Karen Khachanov from Russia and Belgian Alexander Blockx are considered outsiders. Only in Sunday's final could a big name like Spain's Carlos Alcaraz await.

Zverev thus continues his strong season: semifinals at the Australian Open, first title at the French Open, final defeat at Wimbledon, now the quarterfinals. In total, Zverev celebrated his 22nd Grand Slam win of the season, equaling Boris Becker's German record from 1989.

For the first time ever in his career, Zverev has reached the round of the best eight in all four major tournaments in a single year.

Zverev saves energy for next challenges

Zverev now also enters the duel with van de Zandschulp as a strong favorite. The world No. 70 won after a great fight against Frenchman Arthur Gea in five sets – it was the fourth-longest match in US Open history.

In the previous round, van de Zandschulp had also gone the full distance and is likely to be exhausted accordingly on Wednesday. "I can still stand," the Dutchman said, groaning, in his winner's interview.

Zverev had also needed five sets for each of his first two victories in this tournament, totaling nine and a half hours. But now, the physically strong Zverev appears well-recovered and saved crucial energy for the upcoming challenges.

Zverev got off to a perfect start in the round of 16. With almost flawless tennis, he dominated world No. 22 Darderi, broke his serve twice, and led 4-0 after a good fifteen minutes.

Still a defeat against Darderi in Rome

His Italian opponent had already reached the third round of the US Open last year. However, with a total of five wins in New York, he had never beaten a player from the top 100 of the world rankings.

Zverev had, however, already experienced this season that Darderi can still be dangerous. At the Masters in Rome, the Hamburg native had already had four match points but then had to concede defeat with a 0:6 in the third set. Afterwards, he had reported being ill.

Now, Zverev did not let himself be deterred from his path to success. Confidently, he fended off another break point in the last service game and took the first set. Three-quarters of his first serves found their target, leaving clay-court specialist Darderi barely able to get into the game.

And in the second set, Zverev also stayed on top from the start and immediately broke his opponent's serve again. Frustrated, Darderi slammed the ball into the stands. The audience gratefully applauded every point won by the underdog and cheered at 1-4. But shortly thereafter, Zverev was already 2-0 up in sets.

Darderi fought his way into the third set, didn't give up, and celebrated almost every point won with a clenched fist. For the first time, Zverev faced real resistance but prevailed with strong nerves in the tie-break.