Carlos Alcarazwas a comfortable straight-sets quarterfinal win over a Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the semifinals of the US Openwhere on Friday he will face the Russian Daniel Medvedevwho defeated the number 8 seed Andrei Rublev.
The defending champion of the US Open and number 1 in the ranking overwhelmed a Zverev who, although he tried, did not have the solvency to figure out Alcaraz who, instead, dismantled him from the start.
Alcaraz acknowledged that the German is still not at his best level after the injury he suffered in Roland Garros last year it sidelined him for eight months and saw him fall from world number 2 to outside the top 20.
“The last time I played against Zverev was in Madrid this year. He said that he was not prepared to play at his best level and that made me sad. We have had great games. I am very happy to see him back in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam and playing the best he can again, Alcaraz said in his on-court interview.
From the start Alcaraz and Zverev showed the best of their repertoire with impressive winning shots from the baseline, lighting up the atmosphere in the Arthur Ashe stadium that had been prepared for another night of great tennis, until the Spaniard began to set the pace.
With Zverev serving at 3-4, the German dropped first on three straight unforced errors to gift his opponent a break point. Alcaraz seized the opportunity with a big winner and then held comfortably to love to take the early lead.
Undoubtedly, in addition to his stoppage due to injury and the bustle of these two weeks in Flushing Meadowswhich includes the marathon quarterfinal match over Jannik Sinnerthe German saw his level diminished and could not counteract the power of the tournament’s top seed.
Zverev, 26 years old and number 12 in the ranking, already knew by the second set that, to beat Alcaraz, he would need a miracle and these do not exist when you face reality.
Before starting the third set, Zverev requested medical assistance and took a breather that helped him to equalize the battle somewhat, but in front he had an Alcaraz who stepped on the accelerator at will to unbalance at the right moment. He broke Zverev at 4-4 with a forehand and served to end the match after two hours and 30 minutes.
“I feel very comfortable playing on this court, playing on NY. I feel very good physically. I feel strong enough mentally. I think I’m really going to play a great battle against Medvedev in the semifinal,” Alcaraz declared at the subsequent press conference.
As for the confrontations between the two, Alcaraz leads 2-1, both victories occurred this year in the final of Indian Wells and in the semifinals of Wimbledon.
