The Hamburger defeated the Italian Jannik Sinner and thus reached the round of the last eight in a Grand Slam tournament for the seventh time. “I’m happy that I made it through without losing a set,” he says. Outsider Oscar Otte lost his game.
Alexander Zverev smiled after his humorless quarter-finals, then thanked the audience in Arthur-Ashe-Stadium with satisfaction: After the next dominant appearance at the US Open, the Olympic champion is only three wins away from his big dream.
The top tennis player from Hamburg achieved the round of eight in a Grand Slam tournament for the seventh time with a 6: 4, 6: 4, 7: 6 (9: 7) win against the Italian Jannik Sinner and has further determined to have his first major title in view. “It was a high-level match from start to finish. I am happy that I can continue without losing a set and I am excited to see what is still possible in the tournament,” said Zverev.
Last year’s finalist didn’t miss anything against Sinner in the important phases, earned the 15th win in a row and now faces the US 2.11 meter tall Reilly Opelka or the South African Lloyd Harris. Zverev can continue to become the second professional after Andy Murray in 2012, who won Olympic gold and the title in New York in the same year. In the semifinals, he could expect the maximum challenge against Tour dominator Novak Djokovic.
Last year, Zverev lost to Sinner at the French Open in the round of 16, but won again in the semifinals on the way to his title in Cologne. This time he wobbled in the third set when he fell 5: 6 behind. He fended off two set balls on his own serve and saved himself in the tie-break. There Zverev was 1: 4 and 4: 6 behind, but kept his nerve and made his third Grand Slam quarter-final this year after the Australian Open and the French Open perfect.
Oscar Otte, on the other hand, missed a sensation at the US Open. The 28-year-old from Cologne lost to Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini 4: 6, 6: 3, 3: 6, 2: 6 in the round of 16 and missed the first quarter-final of his career in a Grand Slam tournament.
The world number 144. had gone into the match as a clear underdog and with a win would have been the lowest-ranked player in the Round of Eight in New York since Jimmy Connors in 1991. In the fourth set Otte injured his punching hand in a fall and was painfully unable to prevent the defeat. This makes Alexander Zverev the only German quarter-finalist.
Only in 1994, Michael Stich and Bernd Karbacher, were two German professionals in the quarter-finals in Flushing Meadows. Munich’s Peter Gojowczyk, like top player Angelique Kerber, failed in the round of 16 the day before.
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