Alexander Zverev has revealed that he does not believe he is the favourite to lift the men’s singles US Open trophy, despite being the only player left in the draw to have reached a Grand Slam final.
The German rolled past Botic van de Zandschulp in straight sets to reach a third semi-final in New York, completing the set of last-four appearances at all four of this season’s Grand Slams.
In June, after three defeats in Grand Slam finals, Zverev lifted his maiden trophy at such an event by defeating Flavio Cobolli in five sets to clinch the French Open title.
Just four weeks later, he also reached his first Wimbledon final, losing out to world No 1 Jannik Sinner despite an admirable showing.
He will next face Russian Karen Khachanov for a place in his second US Open final, with Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe competing in the other semi-final.
However, despite the sizeable gap in Grand Slam experience between himself and his remaining rivals, Zverev does not believe he is the title favourite.
“I think the person who’s going to win here is going to be the one that plays the best tennis. It’s sometimes as simple as that,” he said during his post-match press conference on Wednesday.
“And yes, there are nerves, there are things that go on through your head when you’re trying to win your first Major. I’ve been there, trust me.
“I’ve had every single thought that can be in your head. But I think, at the end of the day, good tennis will prevail, and we’ll see who that will be on Friday and then also on Sunday.
“I think the more often that you get to that stage, the more normal it becomes, which is something that you should never take for granted. I think it’s a very special feeling when it becomes normality.”
More Tennis News
However, when pressed, he singled out Ben Shelton as the title favourite, given that the American won the title at the recent Canadian Open.
Should he reach the final, the German will like his chances against either opponent, given that he possesses a 5-0 head-to-head record against Shelton and a 9-1 record against Tiafoe.
“I think Ben has been playing amazingly throughout the hard court swing,” he added.
“I think he has been playing better than me throughout the hard court swing and he’s won in Montreal.
“He has played an amazing match yesterday here against Carlos, so maybe from the seeding wise [I am favourite], but I think playing-wise he is playing amazing tennis as well.
“We are all in the semi-finals; we are four guys who deserve to be there, and we will see how it goes.”
Zverev also revealed that he stayed up until the early hours of Tuesday to watch the conclusion of the battle between Shelton and Alcaraz, which finished at 3:34am, the latest finish in tournament history.
“Ben played extremely well from the baseline,” the world No 2 analysed.
“He was extremely stable from the baseline. I thought that was phenomenal to see. Of course, serving well, whatever, that’s normal for him. But I think from the baseline, his tennis was incredibly good.
“I think Alcaraz, you could see maybe that he was a bit rusty. He hasn’t played a top player in a while, because he was missing maybe a few more forehands than he used to. But I think credit to Ben. Ben played amazing.”
