After breezing through his first two matches at the US Open Alexander Zverev was given a wake-up call during his third round encounter against Jack Sock.
For the first time in the tournament, the world No.4 dropped a set following an emphatic start to the match by Sock who committed just three unforced errors in the first nine games played to take the opener 6-3. After the scare, Zverev managed to battle back before the match came to a premature end with Sock being forced to retire in the fourth set due to an upper-right leg injury. Zverev was leading the match 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, 2-1 before his opponent called it quits.
“Jack I think played the best set of tennis I’ve ever seen him play. I did one unforced error in the whole set and I lost it 6-3 without having really any chances,” Zverev said afterwards.
“If he would have kept it up I probably would not have won the match. To be honest, if he hits 17 winners and two unforced errors, there’s not much you can do.”
The unfortunate ending to his clash with Sock extends Zverev’s winning streak on the Tour to 14 matches. Heading into the final Grand Slam of the year, the German won gold at the Tokyo Olympics and then won the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati.
Awaiting Zverev in the next round will be Italy’s Jannik Sinner who was the player he lost to at the French Open last year. The 20-year-old is currently ranked 16th in the world and is the youngest player ranked in the world’s top 50 on the ATP Tour. Sinner has also recorded four wins over top 10 players so far in his career.
“The next one (match) is going to be very interesting against Jannik because he is someone that is very hungry, a young guy that is playing extremely well,” Zverev previewed. “I think it’s going to be interesting to see how that matchup plays out.’
“I’m looking forward to it now because the matches are where it’s going to be difficult and the opponents are really difficult.” He added.
Sinner experienced a tougher route into the last 16 in New York after outlasting Gael Monfils in a five-set thriller that lasted three hours and 44 minutes. To put that into perspective, the combined time Zverev has spent on the court during his first three matches is four hours and 50 minutes.
“It’s great to spend as little time as possible on the court in the first week because that is where you kind of gain and win in the second week,” the 2020 runner-up explains.
“Physically I feel fine. I’m happy where I am. But I also do know that the opponents are not going to get easier and the matches are going to get more difficult. Maybe it’s having the battles you had in the past and knowing what to expect.”
Zverev is one of three German men to reach the fourth round along with Peter Gojowczky and Oscar Otte. Prior to this year, the last time a trio of players from that country reached the last 16 of the tournament was back in 1994.
