Alexander Zverev was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the US Open. After the showdown against Jannik Sinner, he had no chance against Carlos Alcaraz.
The hardships of the past few days were written all over Zverev’s face when he congratulated Carlos Alcaraz on the net. The fighting spirit that had carried him to the quarterfinals of the US Open was gone, his body took its toll, his opponent proved overwhelming. After two and a half hours, the end was sealed. Obviously stricken, Zverev left the world’s largest tennis stage after 3: 6, 2: 6, 4: 6.
“My body is letting me down a bit at the moment,” said Zverev. But giving up wasn’t an option: “I only stop when I’m on the ground like in Paris.” In 2022 he lost his ankle at the French Open in the semifinals against Rafael Nadal (Spain) and suffered a serious ankle injury.
Quarterfinals, women right arrow Quarterfinals, men right arrow
problems in the thigh
Before the third set, the Olympic champion from Hamburg had been treated in the catacombs of the Arthur Ashe Stadium. Zverev indicated: The left thigh pinches. The dramatic round of 16 against Jannik Sinner (Italy), which had only ended late in the night two days earlier, had left its mark. So handicapped, he couldn’t endanger Alcaraz and has to wait for his first Grand Slam title. How serious the injury is this time, he wants to have examined after his return. “I have a bump on my leg, which indicates a tear,” said Zverev.
The Spaniard, on the other hand, remains on course to defend his title and now meets the former tournament winner Daniil Medvedev, who also clearly won in three sets in the Russian duel against Andrei Rublev. The second semi-final in New York will be contested by Novak Djokovic (Serbia) and US youngster Ben Shelton.
Zverev again in the top 10
Zverev has to console himself with having achieved one of his big goals for the season after the serious ankle injury in the summer of 2022: The 26-year-old returns to the top 10 in the tennis world on Monday, and in Flushing Meadows he also collected important points for qualifying for the ATP Season finale in Turin. However, it wasn’t enough for his second Grand Slam semi-final of the year or even for his second major final after the US Open 2020.
However, the conditions were extremely unfavorable for this. Zverev had tormented himself against Sinner for almost five hours, he was on the court for almost six hours longer than Alcaraz until the quarter-finals, and yet Zverev was aggressive. “Yes, it is, thanks,” he replied when asked whether something was still possible against the world number one and Wimbledon winner after the effort against Sinner. Zverev announced that he would “be ready”.
Zverev increasingly at a loss
He skipped training at the Queens facility on Tuesday and the day off initially seemed to have helped him. While Alcaraz (20) jerked forehands, Zverev seemed determined, focused and came up with the first breakballs of the game in extremely stressful humidity. But a backhand landed in the net, one out – and Alcaraz took control. Not always brilliant, but that wasn’t necessary tonight. In the second set, Zverev shrugged his shoulders for the first time, crept along the baseline and looked into his box at father Alexander senior for help. He called out in Russian: “Dawei, dawei!” Go on, go on! And Zverev followed. But he was unable to do more than gasp.
American Keys in the semifinals
America’s Madison Keys has fueled home fans’ hopes of an American win at the US Open and is now challenging top favorite Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals. The 28-year-old beat Czech Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 6-1, 6-4. Keys is in the top four at the Grand Slam tournament in New York for the second time since 2017. Before Keys and Sabalenka, US star Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova from the Czech Republic meet on Thursday.
For Keys, efficiency was the deciding factor. The American used her three chances to break, Vondrousova missed all nine chances. “In front of a home crowd, you never get the feeling that you can’t get out of a situation,” said Keys: “Tomorrow it will be a completely different match. There will be a lot of hard hits, no long rallies.” Previously, Sabalenka from Belarus had impressively confirmed her role as favorite and won 6: 1, 6: 4 against the Chinese Qinwen Zheng. After the US Open, the 25-year-old will take over the top position in the world rankings from Iga Swiatek from Poland.
