This was a drama-filled epic match at the 2023 US Open between two very good players that finished with the victory of Alexander Zverev.
It lasted well over four hours and saw the players experience all sorts of drama in a match that seemingly never wanted to end. We saw a stoppage due to a fan, Janik Sinner cramping badly, and Zverev tumbling but luckily avoiding injury.
The level of play was about what we could have expected from the players. The German had a good number of winners and kept the error number relatively low compared to Sinner, who was obviously going to have more due to how he plays tennis.
The serve was a valuable weapon for Zverev at times, though it also proved his undoing at times. In the 4th set, he double-faulted in a crucial moment, which allowed Sinner to escape with the break, but let's start in the first. It went Zverev's way because Sinner was a bit too eager.
He blasted far too many errors to win the set, but even so, it was really close. The second one was a close one as well, but this time, Zverev struggled in the crucial moments. Sinner played an average set, but the crucial moments better, and it made all the difference.
The 3rd set switched the pendulum once again. Zverev was pretty strong from the baseline not giving his opponent too much which caused Sinenr to try and overhit and it didn't work out. 10 unforced errors more than the German, and the set was gone.
It looked like Zverev was finally separating himself in the 4th but then messed up the crucial game down 4-5, committing a double fault in the wrong moment to allow Sinner to break and force a decider. The players were visibly tired by this time, affecting their game.
The final set opened with Sinner once again sailing too many balls wide, and Zverev jumped out to a 3-0 lead. He was taking a long time on serve, causing Sinner to protest after missing out on a break point but no warning game.
Zverev maintained his break advantage rather easily after this and finished things off. The final score was 6-4 3-6 6-2 4-6 6-3 for the German who took over 4 and a half hours to win the match. His reward? Playing Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-final.
The Spaniard downed Matteo Arnaldi in straight sets many hours ago. Zverev on the other hand finished at 01:40 local time in New York.
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