Alexander Zverev moved closer to capturing his first major title at the US Open on Sunday when he ended American Brandon Nakashima’s run to reach the quarter-finals in New York for the fourth time.
The German dictated after a slow start on Louis Armstrong Stadium to earn a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 win. With his two-hour, 38-minute triumph, Zverev notched his 450th win.
"I was extremely defensive at the beginning of the match and Brandon used it very well and played an awesome set," Zverev said. "I knew that I had to step up my game and take the ball on the rise more and I did well today and I am happy to be back in the quarter-finals."
A special achievement for @AlexZverev 💪
The No. 4 seed sees off Nakashima 3-6 6-1 6-2 6-2 to reach his fourth consecutive #USOpen quarter-final! pic.twitter.com/G3xnacYuoX
Zverev looked on course for a comfortable win in the fourth set when he almost turned his right ankle when chasing a ball down on the forehand wing at 3-1. Despite showing a look of anguish on his face after the point, Zverev showed little sign of discomfort following the brief scare, winning three of the next four games to advance. The 27-year-old injured his right ankle during his semi-final match against Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros in 2022 and missed the rest of the season.
Fit and firing again, the fourth seed is chasing his maiden Grand Slam trophy. Zverev, currently No. 2 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, lost in a deciding-set tie-break to Dominic Thiem in the 2020 US Open final and fell in the Roland Garros championship match to Carlos Alcaraz in five sets earlier this year.
[ATP APP]After Nakashima held his own in the first set, Zverev timed the ball cleanly in sets two, three and four to generate easy power. The 22-time tour-level titlist won 89 per cent (51/57) of his first-serve points against Nakashima, who was aiming to reach his first major quarter-final.
Zverev’s reward for improving to 3-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with the former Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion is a meeting against American Taylor Fritz.
"I am expecting a tough battle," said Zverev on facing Fritz, who beat the German at Wimbledon. "Every time I play Taylor it is a tough battle and I am expecting nothing less and hopefully it will be entertaining."
Zverev is seeking his second title of the season, having clinched his sixth ATP Masters 1000 crown in Rome. The fourth seed has earned a Tour-leading 56 wins in 2024 and is second in the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin.
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