US Open – With a view to Djokovic’s exit: Zverev passes night test – Sport

New York (dpa) – In the middle of his own third-round match at the US Open, Alexander Zverev saw the images of Novak Djokovic’s sensational exit on the big video screen – and was immediately somewhat distracted. “You notice it, maybe it was a bit disturbing because I know that Novak is no longer in my half,” the 27-year-old reported shortly before three in the morning as he cycled down on a fitness bike after his own exhausting night shift.

Zverev defeated the Argentinian Tomás Martin Etcheverry 5:7, 7:5, 6:1, 6:3 and only converted the match point to reach the round of 16 in New York at 2:35 a.m. local time. For Djokovic, the Grand Slam tournament was already over just under three hours later. The Serb’s failure and the equally surprising exit of Carlos Alcaraz also increase Zverev’s chances of winning the first title he is aiming for in one of the four biggest tournaments of the season.

Anniversary victory for Zverev

“It’s a big name,” said Zverev about Djokovic’s exit, but warned: “I have to concentrate on myself, as we saw today. Anyone can play outstanding tennis at a Grand Slam. I have to win my own matches first.”

The 27-year-old celebrated his 100th victory in a Grand Slam match. He is the first player born after 1990 to reach this mark.

“It was so much fun playing.” I’m just happy that I’m through,” said Zverev in the winner’s interview and addressed the several hundred fans who had still held out in the Louis Armstrong Stadium: “Thank you all for staying so long.” It is a Friday evening in New York. “To be honest, if I had a free Friday evening in New York, I would be somewhere else now.” Only one match in the history of the US Open had ended later.

The 2021 Olympic tennis champion will now face American Brandon Nakashima in the round of the best 16. The 23-year-old defeated Italian Lorenzo Musetti in four sets, who had ended Zverev’s dream of another Olympic gold medal in the quarterfinals in Paris.

After Alcaraz, Djokovic also fails

On the way to a possible first Grand Slam title, Zverev could have met Djokovic in the semifinals at the earliest, with Alcaraz being a possible opponent in the final. Djokovic lost to Australian Alexei Popyrin in the third round with 4:6, 4:6, 6:2, 4:6 and was thus eliminated earlier than at any other US Open since 2006.

“It was a terrible match from me,” said the 37-year-old Serb, dismayed. “I played some of my worst tennis ever, and hit as badly as ever.” This means that the 24-time Grand Slam tournament winner this season remains without a triumph at one of the four biggest tournaments for the first time since 2017.

Barely a month after his triumph at the Olympics in Paris, Djokovic was far from the brilliant form he showed when he beat Alcaraz in the final. “I spent a lot of energy trying to win gold and arrived in New York without feeling mentally or physically fresh,” he said. Before that, world number three Alcaraz from Spain had already suffered a surprise defeat in the second round to Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp.

Zverev’s match starts shortly before 11 p.m.

At 10:51 p.m. local time, Zverev entered the court at the Louis Armstrong Stadium. The previous matches had lasted so long that the Hamburg player only opened his match with his first serve shortly before eleven. In the very first point, Zverev requested video evidence because he mistakenly believed that the ball had not touched the ground twice on his side.

The start was also bumpy in other respects. Zverev conceded the first break with a backhand error. His game was characterized by far too many inaccuracies, and he made a total of 23 minor errors in the first set. “I think Novak’s match was over at 5:5 in the first set, I lost two games straight away,” said Zverev with a grin. “I’m happy that I managed to pull myself together.”

15 minutes away from the record

Zverev stabilized himself and won the second set by a similar score. After a conversation with his brother Mischa during Etcheverry’s toilet break, Zverev played increasingly stronger. Again and again he successfully sought his way to the net and, as so often, seemed to be able to crack his opponent with his outstanding physique.

But Etcheverry initially got over his exhausting five-set match in the second round. Two days earlier, in much higher temperatures, he had even vomited on the court.

The fourth set became more exciting again. At 2:3, Zverev fended off three break points in the series. In the following game, however, the 2020 finalist took his opponents’ serve with a volley and was able to celebrate a short time later. Only 15 minutes were missing from the latest match to finish at the US Open: in 2022, Alcaraz defeated Jannik Sinner from Italy in the quarterfinals at 2:50 a.m. “We were just unlucky that the other matches went on for such an incredibly long time,” said Zverev, not wanting to blame the organizers: “The tournament can’t help that.”

© dpa-infocom, dpa:240831-930-218633/3