US Open: Carlos Alcaraz beats Alexander Zverev, cruises into semis

Alcaraz pushed aside Zverev 6-3,6-2, 6-4 and moved a step closer to becoming the first man to win consecutive titles at Flushing Meadows since Roger Federer collected five in a row from 2004-08

New York: Carlos Alcaraz found himself in a hint of a predicament 35 minutes into his US Open quarterfinal against Alexander Zverev.

At 3-all in the first set under the lights in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday night, Zverev earned the first break points of the match. An opening. An opportunity to gain an early edge against the defending champion. And then — poof! — gone. Alcaraz dismissed those chances to hold, then gained a break himself in the next game by depositing an overhead that bounced into the stands.

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One more service hold arrived and, just like that, the set belonged to Alcaraz, as did, eventually, a spot in the semifinals. The top-seeded Alcaraz pushed aside Zverev 6-3,6-2, 6-4 and moved a step closer to becoming the first man to win consecutive titles at Flushing Meadows since Roger Federer collected five in a row from 2004-08.

The 12th-seeded Zverev, a 26-year-old German who was the runner-up at the 2020 US Open, said he felt something bothersome in his left hamstring area early in the second set. And because of that, he explained, sprinting and pushing off properly to serve became problematic.

There have not been many instances in which anyone has managed to slow down Alcaraz, a 20-year-old from Spain, in any real way over the past year-plus of Grand Slam action. He improved to 24-1 in his past four major tournaments: After the championship in New York 12 months ago, he sat out the Australian Open with a leg injury, made it to the semifinals of the French Open before cramping up in a loss to Novak Djokovic, and added the Wimbledon trophy by beating Djokovic in the final, before the run over these two weeks.

There could be an Alcaraz vs. Djokovic rematch in Sunday’s final. “Well, obviously it’s closer than (it was at) the beginning of the tournament,” Alcaraz said with a laugh when asked about that possibility.

Yes, first things first. Alcaraz will take on 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev in the final four on Friday, while 23-time Slam champ Djokovic faces unseeded Ben Shelton, a 20-year-old American who’s never been this far at a major. On a sweltering evening, Alcaraz showed off several aspects of his varied game against Zverev.

Medvedev, a 27-year-old Russian seeded No. 3, eliminated Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the semifinals at Flushing Meadows for the fourth time. Zheng Qinwen, the No. 23 seed who defeated 2022 runner-up Ons Jabeur in her previous match, said that dynamic bothered her during a 6-1, 6-4 loss to Aryna Sabalenka. Sabalenka won 20 of the initial 24 points to race to a 5-0 lead after just 17 minutes. She reached the semifinals for the fifth major in a row and will rise from No. 2 to No. 1 in the WTA rankings next week, replacing 2022 US Open champion Iga Swiatek, who exited in the fourth round.

In Thursday night’s semifinals, Sabalenka will meet 2017 US Open finalist Madison Keys, an American who saved all nine break points she faced during a 6-1, 6-4 victory over reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova.