WHAT HAPPENED: Top seed Carlos Alcaraz lived up to his top billing on Wednesday night inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. The defending champion dismantled No. 12 seed Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the US Open semifinals.
"The last time I played against Zverev was in Madrid this year. He said he wasn't ready to play at his best and I was sad about it," Alcaraz said in his on-court interview, referring to the early stages of the German's comeback from an ankle injury. "We've had some big fights and big matches. I'm so happy to see him back in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam and playing his best again."
Both men unleashed a flurry of impressive baseline winners throughout much of the opening set. But with Zverev serving at 3-4, the German blinked first with three consecutive unforced errors to gift a break point to his opponent. Alcaraz made good on the opportunity with a smash winner and then comfortably held to love to take the early advantage.
Zverev spent nearly 15 hours on court across his first four matches this fortnight, including a fourth-round win over Jannik Sinner on Monday night that took nearly five hours to complete at 1:39 a.m. His gauntlet to the quarterfinals began to catch up with him in the second set as it became clear that defeating Alcaraz would require more marathon magic from the 2020 US Open finalist.
Alcaraz sensed his opponent’s dwindling foot speed and raised his level in the second set, cracking a backhand winner to break Zverev at 1-1 and earning an insurance break four games later with a forehand winner. He easily closed out the set on his serve at 5-2 and took a commanding two-sets lead.
Zverev took a medical timeout before the start of the third set, but it did little to stop Alcaraz’s momentum. Although he hung with the Spaniard for most of the third set, Alcaraz raised his level when it mattered most. He broke Zverev at 4-4 with a powerful slice forehand and served out the match after two hours and 30 minutes of play.
Alcaraz was a perfect four-for-four on break points, converting each one with a winner. He also saved all five of the break points against him.
WHAT IT MEANS: The defending champion is in full flight. Alcaraz, the youngest top seed in US Open history, will face No. 3 seed and 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals. Medvedev defeated No. 8 seed Andrey Rublev earlier in the day.
Alcaraz leads their head-to-head series 2-1, with both victories coming this year in the Indian Wells final and Wimbledon semifinals.
"I'm feeling really comfortable playing on this court and in New York," Alcaraz said. "I'm feeling great physically, mentally, my tennis game is strong. I'm ready to play a great battle against Medvedev in the semifinal."
Last year, Alcaraz spent the most time on court of any US Open champion since that stastic has been kept (since 1999). This year, he’s only spent 11 hours on court across his first five rounds in New York. He’ll need all of his stored energy for Medvedev, who will be sure to extend the rallies against Alcaraz and give him a variety of off-speed shots in a bid to throw the Spaniard off his game.
MATCH POINT: Alcaraz arrived for his showdown with Zverev as the first man to reach the quarterfinals or better in his first three US Open showings since Johan Kriek in 1978-1980.
