Zverev overcomes double-fault troubles to win
Pennsylvania’s Brady gets berth in women’s semifinals
NEW YORK — The disqualification of Novak Djokovic from the U.S. Open, and the absences of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, presented quite an opportunity to Alexander Zverev and the other men left in the tournament — all in their 20s, all seeking a first Grand Slam title.
Who would falter? Who would rise to the occasion? Done in by double-faults and bothered by an officiating decision, Zverev stumbled at the start of Tuesday’s quarterfinal against Borna Coric. Then, suddenly, Zverev soared.
Down a set and a break early, then so close to trailing by two sets to one, Zverev grabbed 14 of 15 points in a pivotal stretch on the way to earning his first semifinal berth at Flushing Meadows with a 1-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1), 6-3 victory over Coric.
It was a scratchy contest — both men generated more unforced errors than winners through two sets, and Zverev finished with 12 double-faults — and the winner acknowledged afterward that the way he played at the outset was “not the level for the quarterfinal match in a Grand Slam.”
But he got more aggressive as things went on, including essentially hitting two first serves instead of a softer, slower second following a fault, and that helped lift him to his second consecutive major semifinal, after getting that far at this year’s Australian Open.
“It’s obviously a great accomplishment, but I don’t want to stop here,” the 6-foot-6 Zverev said. “I hope that I can continue the way I’m doing.”
Next for the 23-year-old from Germany will be No. 20 Pablo Carreño Busta of Spain. He beat No. 12 Denis Shapovalov of Canada 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4), 0-6, 6-3 on Tuesday night.
It was Carreño Busta who was the beneficiary when Djokovic was defaulted from their fourth-round match for hitting a ball that accidentally hit a line judge in the throat after a game.
The men’s quarterfinals on the bottom half of the draw are Wednesday:
No. 2 seed Dominic Thiem vs. No. 21 Alex de Minaur, and No. 3 Daniil Medvedev vs. No. 10 Andrey Rublev.
In women’s action Tuesday, two-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka set up a semifinal against 28thseeded Jennifer Brady, a 25-year-old from Pennsylvania who’s never been this far at a major tournament.
Osaka, the former No. 1-ranked played who won the U.S. Open two years ago, played far cleaner tennis than her opponent in a 6-3, 6-4 win over 93rd-ranked Shelby Rogers at night.
Rogers finished with 27 unforced errors, Osaka with eight.
Earlier, Brady defeated No. 23 seed Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-2.
“I came out with nerves. I think she did, too,” Brady said. “I just tried to pretend it was a first-round match.”
It’s been quite a surge for Brady, whose big serve and forehand have carried her to an 11-1 record since tennis returned from its pandemic hiatus.
Her ranking was low enough at the start of 2020 that she needed to go through qualifying to get into a tournament’s main draw.
“There were a lot of doubts, a lot of questions. Definitely not positive thoughts during those times,” said Brady, who helped UCLA win an NCAA title. “But I think I’m pretty lucky to have just stuck to it and just really continue to just play and practice and compete and get better. Here I am today.”
Wednesday’s women’s quarterfinals are Serena Williams vs. Tsvetana Pironkova, and Victoria Azarenka vs. Elise Mertens.