ALEXANDER ZVEREV DEFEATED Jannik Sinner in a late-night five-set US Open marathon to line up a quarter-final with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
German 12th seed Zverev outlasted Sinner 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in a gruelling 4hr 41min match which finished at 1.39am local time Tuesday on a muggy night in New York.
Zverev claimed his second win over the sixth-seeded Italian in three years at Flushing Meadows and advanced to a third quarter-final here after the longest US Open match of his career.
“I guess I can say I’m back. This is what I live for, this is what I absolutely love to do,” Zverev said in an on-court interview.
“Last year when I wasn’t able to play this is exactly the kind of moments I missed.”
Zverev, the 2020 US Open runner-up, missed last year’s tournament after suffering a horror ankle injury at Roland Garros.
“I actually don’t know how I managed that. I was completely done in the fourth set. I was extremely tired. In the fifth set I somehow found it again,” said Zverev.
“This is one of the best moments of my career, after my comeback and everything. I’m looking forward to what comes next.”
The 26-year-old Zverev has a 3-2 record against world number one Alcaraz, winning their only Grand Slam meeting in the 2022 French Open quarter-finals, and is regaining his best form.
“I’m here to play. That’s what I love doing. I don’t know how it’ll end up but I’ll give it my absolute best like I always do,” he said.
“I’ll fight till the last moment. I’ll be ready.”
The match also saw an ugly incident in the fourth set when Zverev complained of a “Hitler phrase” being shouted from the stands as he prepared to serve.
“He just said the most famous Hitler phrase there is in this world,” Zverev told the umpire. “This is unbelievable.”
A male fan was subsequently identified as the alleged culprit and ejected from the arena before Zverev went on to seal victory.
“I love when fans are loud, I love when fans are emotional but I think me being German, and not really proud of that history, it’s not really a great thing to do,” Zverev said of the incident afterwards.
“If I just don’t react I think it’s bad from my side.”
Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka celebrated her ascent to the pinnacle of women’s tennis by powering into the quarter-finals of the US Open with a straight sets win over Russian Daria Kasatkina.
Sabalenka, who is guaranteed of becoming the new world number one next week following Iga Swiatek’s fourth round exit on Sunday, cruised into the last eight with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over the 13th seed.
The Belarusian will play China’s Zheng Qinwen on Wednesday for a place in the last four.
Sabalenka, who lost in the semi-finals of last year’s US Open, is targeting her second Grand Slam title of the season after winning the Australian Open in January.
The 25-year-old from Minsk said after her win she was delighted to have secured the No.1 ranking — but admitted she would have preferred to have beaten Swiatek in the final in New York.
“Honestly I had no doubt she was going to make it to the final — I really wanted to have this battle with her and decide everything on court,” Sabalenka said of outgoing No.1 Swiatek.
“I was sad she lost, but it means a lot to me. I’ve been pushing myself all this year to reach this goal. It’s unbelievable, it’s something crazy, I still can’t believe it.”
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