Top-seeded Alexander Zverev cruised past unseeded Botic van de Zandschulp, 6-2, 7-5, 6-1, in the 2026 US Open quarterfinals on Wednesday night inside of Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Zverev advances to his fourth major semifinal of the season and the 13th of his career, where he’ll face Karen Khachanov on Friday.
The lanky German, who won at Roland Garros for his first Grand Slam title earlier this year, wasn’t in top form. But he had enough to dispose of van de Zandschulp, of the Netherlands, who was coming off consecutive five-set matches.
It was a rare three-set affair and an early last call for Zverev, who has made his run to the event’s later stages by going deep into the night. In a fairly straightforward manner, Zverev got his work in and got off the court.
“I started playing better throughout the tournament and I’m very happy to be in the semifinals here,’’ said Zverev after dusting off van de Zandschulp in their first meeting. “But of course I want to go further.’’
You go, Sascha.
But among the reasons he still has a pulse in New York City is the format. If this wasn’t a major, which requires the men to win three sets, Zverev would already be toe-tagged. Not only has he gone the distance in his first matches, but in his first-round effort against Lorenzo Sonego, he was two points from heading to JFK.
It’s not a minor issue that he is playing in a major.
“I think you saw that in the first two rounds, when I really didn’t play well,’’ said Zverev, who had 21 winners and 28 unforced errors on Wednesday. “I can rely more on physicality a bit more in majors than I can in other tournaments.
“In other tournaments, I would have been out in the first round and here I can fight back, play best-of-five, play for four and a half hours and somehow win the match and somehow get into the tournament.’’
Zverev will likely have to elevate his game once again against the veteran Khachanov.
Zverev started slow in this quarterfinal, with his serve betraying him to the tune of five double faults in the first set. But it mattered little as he overwhelmed the Dutchman by riding two service breaks to an easy first-frame win.
The second set was more competitive as van de Zandschulp took advantage of Zverev’s ho-hum tennis, seizing two late break points and coming within two points of knotting the score. But van de Zandschulp couldn’t convert with his conservative baseline approach and Zverev upended the uprising by holding.
The third set was quickly consumed, with Zverev spitting out another Grand Slam victory, something that has happened with regularity this year.
Zverev is the lone remaining player in the men's singles draw with a Grand Slam title to his name. He admitted to staying up late Wednesday for the Battle of the Tank Tops, Carlos Alcaraz vs. Ben Shelton, when seven-time major champ Alcaraz was eliminated.
“I watched Shelton-Alcaraz until 3:30 a.m. last night,’’ he said. “I did not go to bed. I was watching TV because I was sleeping in until 1 p.m. anyway.
“Credit to Ben, he played an unbelievable match and the day after tomorrow, I think it is going to be a fun semifinal between two Americans.’’
Kudos to Zverev as well. He entered the fortnight as the No. 1 seed for the first time in a major, and while there have been a few hiccups, Zverev continues to win.
WHAT IT MEANS
Up next is Friday’s semifinal against the hard-hitting Khachanov and the German has had his way, holding a 6-3 edge. Eight of the nine pairings have come on hard courts, and on that surface is where Khachanov earned his three wins.
At the biggest events, Zverev has prevailed: He won the gold medal match at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and at Roland Garros, a five-set verdict in the 2018 quarterfinals.
They last squared off at the 2025 Cincinnati ATP Masters 1000 in the Round of 16 on the cement, with Zverev up a set and winning 3-0 when Khachanov retired.
MATCH POINT
To illustrate how keen Zverev has been in 2026, not only did he win his first major at Roland Garros but he owns a tour-leading 51 wins, the seventh time he has reached the half-century mark. And with yet another Grand Slam victory, he surpassed Boris Becker’s 1989 standard to become the German with the most triumphs at the majors in a single season with 23.
