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Alexander Zverev stormed into the US Open semifinals for the third time in his career with a commanding 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 victory over Botic van de Zandschulp on Wednesday (local time).
The German top seed needed little more than two hours to dispatch the Dutchman and continued his impressive run in a season that has already seen him claim his maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros. Zverev was particularly effective in the crucial moments of the second set, where van de Zandschulp threatened to make a comeback. At 3-2, the Dutchman earned his first break point of the match, but Zverev stayed composed and won a gruelling 33-shot rally to deny the opportunity. Van de Zandschulp later had a set point on Zverev's serve while leading 5-4, but a forehand error from the Dutchman brought the extended exchange to an end. Zverev capitalised on the opening, broke serve and closed out the set 7-5. The third set was largely one-way traffic as Zverev raced to a 6-1 finish, completing a straight-sets victory and moving into his 13th Grand Slam semifinal. The 29-year-old now has 51 match wins on the ATP Tour this season, the most on tour. His 23 Grand Slam match victories this year are also the most by a German male player in a single season, surpassing Boris Becker's previous mark of 22 set in 1989. According to the ATP, Zverev has also become only the ninth different men's player in the Open Era to reach the semifinals at all four Grand Slam tournaments in a single season. His season began with a semifinal appearance at the Australian Open, before he won Roland Garros in a five-set final against Flavio Cobolli. He then reached the Wimbledon final, where he lost to world No. 1 Jannik Sinner. Zverev will next face Karen Khachanov in the last four. The German leads their head-to-head record 6-3 and also defeated the Russian in the gold-medal match at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The 25-time tour-level champion will be looking to go one step further in New York after reaching the US Open final in 2020. Zverev came within two points of winning his first major title in that final before Dominic Thiem fought back to triumph in five sets. Van de Zandschulp's run ended in the quarterfinals after the 30-year-old reached this stage for the second time at Flushing Meadows. He had also made the last eight as a qualifier in 2021. The Dutchman arrived at the quarterfinal after consecutive five-set victories, including a remarkable fourth-round comeback from two sets down against Arthur Gea, where he also saved a match point. The other men's singles semifinal will be an all-American contest between Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton. Shelton booked his place in the last four by defeating defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, while Tiafoe overcame Alex Michelsen. Both semifinals are scheduled to be played on Saturday at Arthur Ashe Stadium. (ANI)
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