Round 4: Jannik Sinner vs. Alexander Zverev
Arthur Ashe Stadium — Night Session — Second Match
- Monday night sees a clash between 2020 US Open runner-up Zverev and 2022 quarterfinalist Sinner. Zverev leads the rivalry 3-1 and pushed past Sinner in Round 4 in New York in 2021 in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(7). But the two are 1-1 at Grand Slams, with Sinner winning 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the fourth round of Roland Garros in 2020.
- Sinner, making his third straight fourth-round appearance in the tournament, comes into the US Open at a career-high ranking, and over the last year, his presence on the tour has only increased in magnitude, with wins in Montpellier and Canada; runner-up finishes in Rotterdam and Miami; and his first Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon, all coming this year. His Round 3 defeat of 2016 Open champ Stan Wawrinka on Saturday, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, only added to his repertoire.
- Grabbing a win against Zverev would see Sinner match his 2022 result, where succumbed to eventual champion and world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the latest night-session finish in tournament history (2:50 a.m.), and second-longest US Open match ever (5 hours and 15 minutes), 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-7(0), 7-5, 6-3.
- After sending world No. 19 Grigor Dimitrov home in Round 3, 6-7(2), 7-6(10), 6-1, 6-1, Zverev is making his fourth Round 4 appearance at the Open. He missed the tournament last year, after tearing three ligaments in his right ankle during his 2022 Roland Garros semifinal match against No. 5 seed Rafael Nadal.
- Zverev, who was once world No. 4, may be itching to return to his former glory: “To be honest right now, I’m in my comeback year,” he said last week after beating fellow German Daniel Altmaier. In 2020, he was a game away from winning his first Grand Slam title in New York, only to be beaten by Dominic Thiem in a historic final 2–6, 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6(6). It was the first US Open final to be decided by a fifth-set tiebreak, and Thiem was the first play to rally from two sets down to win a US Open final in the Open Era.
