US Open 2020: Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals for the first time
Alexander Zverev made it to his first quarter-finals at the US Open without any problems. The German number one defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6: 2, 6: 2 and 6: 1.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Sep 06, 2020, 08:39 pm
The draw in the first round may have shown the strongest opponent for a seeded player with Kevin Anderson, but Alexander Zverev mastered this task just as confidently as the two following matches against the young American Brandon Nakashima and the not so young French Adrian Mannarino. Zverev had to make a sentence each time, but advancement was never in question. A man like Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who had very little to oppose the playful class of the German number one, can wait in the second round. Zverev won 6: 2, 6: 2 and 6: 1 and will meet either Borna Coric or Jordan Thompson in his first quarter-finals at the US Open.
If you want to play successfully against Alexander Zverev, you should try to offer the Hamburg-born balls in different heights, to vary the spin and slice at the right temperature. Davidovich Fokina was never able to do that, especially not after he had to retap his right ankle at the beginning of the third set. The Spaniard could have gone out against Dennis Novak in round one, almost had to, but the Austrian could not take advantage of numerous chances. Then Davidovich Fokina surprisingly prevailed against the higher-ranking Hubert Hurkacz, in round three also against Cameron Norrie.
Zverev again among the last eight
But there was nothing to be gained against Zverev. This time, the number five of the tournament didn't even play a trick on his shoes, against Nakashima Zverev had to put on a new pair because his shoes were leaking. Zverev remained untouchable with his own serve with a total of 18 aces, showed almost no emotions during the entire match. But the course of the game never gave him any reason to.
With that, Zverev reached at least the round of the last eight in the second major of the year. At the Australian Open, he made his first entry into a Grand Slam semi-final. However, there he lost to Dominic Thiem. Alexander Zverev lost to his potential opponent Borna Coric at the US Open in 2017, and the Croatian leads 3-1 wins overall.