Carlos Alcaraz on Wednesday found himself in a hint of a predicament 35 minutes into his US Open quarter-final against Alexander Zverev.
At 3-3 in the first set under the lights in Arthur Ashe Stadium, Zverev earned the first break points of the match — an opportunity to gain an early edge against the defending champion.
However, Alcaraz dismissed those chances to hold, then gained a break himself in the next game by depositing an overhead that bounced into the stands. One more service hold arrived and, just like that, the set belonged to Alcaraz, as did, eventually, a spot in the semi-finals.
Photo: AFP
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 to 2008.
If “I could have broken, it could have gone my way. It didn’t,” Zverev said about that key segment in the match’s seventh game. “Even though I lost the first set, I thought it was going to be a competitive match. I thought my level was there. I thought his level was there. I thought it was going to be a fun one.”
However, 12th seed 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.
Photo: AFP
Because of that, sprinting and pushing off properly to serve became problematic, he said.
“I didn’t give up,” said Zverev, who left the court for a medical timeout before the third set, “but there is very little you can do, in a way, against Carlos then.”
There have not been many instances in which anyone has slowed down Alcaraz, a 20-year-old from Spain, in any real way over the past year of Grand Slam action.
Photo: AFP
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 semi-finals 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 the past two weeks.
There might be an Alcaraz versus 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. “It would be great to play a final against Novak here in New York, but ... both of us have really tough semi-finals, so let’s see.”
Photo: AFP
Alcaraz faces 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev in the final four today, while 23-time Slam champ Djokovic faces unseeded Ben Shelton, a 20-year-old American who has never been this far at a major.
On a sweltering evening, Alcaraz showed off several aspects of his varied game against Zverev.
The powerful forehands that elicit gasps from the crowd. The delicate drop shots. The hammered returns. The all-court speedy coverage. The willingness to try — and ability to succeed on — shots others would not even consider.
Photo: AFP
“I try to make the people enjoy watching tennis, watching the matches,” Alcaraz said during his on-court interview. “I’ve been trying to do different shots that probably the crowd are not used to seeing in the matches,”
“That’s what I’m trying — to put a show on,” said Alcaraz, who is 58-6 with six titles this year, both tour highs.
There is also a sense of the moment, knowing when there are points, or games, he absolutely needs to have.
On Wednesday, he saved all five break points he faced and converted each of the four he earned in Zverev’s service games.
Alcaraz said he tries to think of those potentially outcome-altering junctures as “normal point; try to do the things that I was doing well. Trying to play my style, trying to [be] aggressive.”
He wound up gathering 11 of 13 points in the stretch that closed the opening set, in part by picking on Zverev’s second serves.
It was a perfect return on a 208kph first serve that led to a cross-court backhand winner by Alcaraz for the break that tilted the second set his way at 2-1.
While Zverev was being tended to by a trainer after that set, Alcaraz whiled away the time by twirling his racket as if it were a baton.
Medvedev complained about the roasting temperatures as he battled into the semi-finals.
The third seed said that the conditions had put player safety at risk during his 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Russian compatriot Andrey Rublev.
Temperatures at Flushing Meadows reached 35°C.
Tournament organizers said that extreme heat measures were in effect for the match, but Medvedev was unimpressed.
During the third set, he muttered to a nearby TV camera: “One player is going to die and they’re going to see.”
“The conditions were brutal. The only good thing is that both players suffer, so it’s tough for both of us,” Medvedev said after his victory. “At the end of the first set, I kind of couldn’t see the ball anymore. I kind of just played with sensations.”
In the women’s singles, Aryna Sabalenka delivered a sizzling display to reach the last four, beating China’s Zheng Qinwen 6-1, 6-4.
Madison Keys advanced to the last four after defeating Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-4.
In the women’s doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Wang Xinyu of China defeated Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff of the US 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-4.
They face New Zealand-Canada pair Erin Routliffe and Gabriela Dabrowski in the semis tomorrow.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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