After a rocky start to his US Open campaign, Alexander Zverev is starting to find his groove on the court.
The German came through the first two rounds in five-set battles, becoming the first top seed in the Open Era to drop four sets en route to the third round of the US Open. He fared better against Alejandro Tabilo and there are more positives from his latest match.
Taking on Luciano Darderi in the fourth round on Monday evening, Zverev surged to a 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(3) victory. The triumph marks his 50th win of the year, which is a milestone he has now achieved in seven separate seasons. It is also the first time Zverev has reached the quarter-finals or better at all four major events within the same year.
“I think I’m going in the right direction, moving forward in the right direction,” he said.
“I felt like Luciano played an almost perfect set in the third set, and I still won the set, which is an amazing sign for me. I hope to continue this way.”
As for his current form, Zverev admits he was far from his best at the start of the US Open but is starting to gain momentum.
“I think after ten hours on court, I just maybe found my rhythm a little bit better, which is helpful because the first two matches were really not a great level, especially the second round,” Zverev explained.
“I’m happy that there are improvements.”
On paper, the 29-year-old is the outstanding favourite to reach the final. In his section of the draw, there are no top-20 seeded players remaining. Alexander Blockx, the 28th-seeded player, is the highest-ranked player and could potentially play Zverev in the semi-finals if he beats Karen Khachanov.
In his next match, Zverev plays Botic van de Zandschulp, who spent more than five hours on court and saved a match point before defeating lucky loser Arthur Gea 3-6, 6-7(0), 7-6(7), 7-6(3), 6-4.
‘I’m glad I won despite playing poorly and that I managed to scrape through. Hopefully I can get back into better form for the next match,’ said Van de Zandschulp.
“I’m still feeling quite okay at the moment, but we’ll see how I feel this evening and tomorrow morning. I’ll definitely be recharging my batteries for the next match.”
The upcoming match will be the first Tour-level meeting between Zverev and de Zandschulp.
