Alcaraz Swiftly Moves Past Injured Zverev To US Open Semifinals

| by Erik Virostko

Carlos Alcaraz keeps winning at the 2023 US Open, this time beating Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals of the event.

The two players met five times before on the ATP Tour, and while the more experienced German managed to win in the first two matches, back in 2021 when Alcaraz didn't have much experience, the young Spaniard won two of the last three matches.

The last time that Zverev managed to beat Alcaraz was last year at Roland Garros, but since then, the 20-year-old defeated him this year in Madrid, losing only three games. Yet, the head-to-head still spoke in favor of the 26-year-old German as he won both hard-court clashes.

Yet, head-to-head means little when players actually step on the tennis court, and that was the case on Wednesday night at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. Alcaraz wasn't troubled by any of his opponents in the previous rounds, while Zverev had to fight in five sets against Jannik Sinner.

All of that became slowly but surely visible in this quarterfinal match, as the former world no. 2 had quite a good start. Zverev was actually the first player to have the first two break points, but after he couldn't use his chances, it was the current world no. 1 on the ATP Tour who used his chances.

From leading 4-3 and facing 30-0 deficit on his opponent's serve in the first set, Alcaraz won eight consecutive points, winning the first set 6-3, and establishing an important lead against a more experienced opponent.

2023 US Open ATP & WTA Prize Money & Points Overview
2023 US Open ATP & WTA Prize Money & Points Overview

In the second set, Alcaraz didn't give his opponent any chances, but it was also the set when Zverev started to 'feel something in his hamstring glute.' With this own experience, the 20-year-old didn't need a second invitation, winning the second set comfortably 6-2, converting both of his break points, while hitting eleven winners and making only nine unforced errors.

After losing the second set, the 12th seed, who is set for a Top 10 return after the event, had his chances once again, having break points in the second and fourth game of the third set. Yet, once again he couldn't use his chances, and once again, Alcaraz didn't need a second invitation, breaking his opponent's serve once again, and winning the match 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

In the end, effectivity really mattered in the last quarterfinal match of the 2023 US Open. While Zverev had five break points, he couldn't use any of his chances, and on the other hand, Alcaraz had only four chances, but used them all.

That means that the 20-year-old Spaniard moved to a semifinal clash against the third-seeded Daniil Medvedev, who defeated his best friend Andrey Rublev earlier on the day. While Alcaraz can celebrate, Zverev will now surely think about how to recover as soon as possible, as he talked about his injury after the match.

"I was in the match the first set, yeah. I could have broken, it could have gone my way, it didn't. Then the second set I felt something in my hamstring glute, left side. I couldn't push off on my serve anymore. My serve speed was down quite a lot compared to the other days."

"Against him especially I needed a good serving day otherwise it would have been difficult. Yeah, I think my biggest weapon was kind of taken away after the first set, and yeah, it's difficult to even compete if you don't have that."

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