Zverev, Brady advance to U.S. Open semis
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 the winner of Tuesday night's quarterfinal between No. 12 Denis Shapovalov of Canada and No. 20 Pablo Carreño Busta of Spain.
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.
Jennifer Brady, a 25-year-old from Pennsylvania who is seeded 28th,
claimed the first women's semifinal spot Tuesday by defeating No. 23 seed Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-2.
“I came out with nerves. I think she did, too,” said Brady, never before in the quarterfinals of a major tournament. “I just tried to pretend it was a first-round match, and I was happy with the way I started. Then I was able to keep the momentum and build off of that.”
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 was needing to go through qualifying to get into a tournament's main draw.
Now she's one of four women left at the U.S. Open.
“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.”
She'll face fourth-seeded Naomi Osaka of Japan, a two-time Grand Slam champion who defeated 93rd-ranked American Shelby Rogers 6-3, 6-4 in a night match.
The last two women's quarterfinals are Wednesday: Serena Williams vs. Tsvetana Pironkova, and Victoria Azarenka vs. Elise Mertens.
Zverev has been considered an up-andcoming talent to watch for a few years now but had never quite put it together at Grand Slam tournament until this year. And Tuesday, he was dealing with a lot. There were his own double-fault demons — nothing new to him, but disconcerting all the same — that appeared just 10 minutes into the match, when a trio of those free points contributed to Coric breaking to lead 3-1.
There was his argument with chair umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore early in the second set about her decision to replay a point after an incorrect call robbed Zverev of a point.
There was his gripe with ESPN courtside commentator Brad Gilbert, whose reports on live TV in an empty Arthur Ashe Stadium bothered Zverev enough that he told the former player and coach: “You're talking too loud, man . ... I can hear every single word you're saying.”