Newsletters
Top seed Alexander Zverev found a faster rhythm at the U.S. Open on Saturday, sprinting to a 6-2, 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 victory over Alejandro Tabilo to reach the last 16, a day after world number two Elena Rybakina also booked her place in the fourth round with a hard-fought win over Yuliia Starodubtseva.
Zverev had already spent nine hours and 26 minutes on court in his first two matches, the most time a top seed has needed to reach the third round of a major since 1999, after laboring through a pair of marathon five-setters.
"My coach was actually quite smart; he explained to me a best-of-five-set match doesn't mean you have to play five sets," quipped the French Open champion, who appeared on a mission to end the trend against Tabilo.
The 25th-seeded Chilean was out to avenge a loss to Zverev in the second round last year on the same Arthur Ashe Stadium court.
Zverev didn't face a break point in a brutally efficient first set, winning all 11 points behind his first serve and five of seven on his second serve. He broke Tabilo twice on the way to pocketing the set in 38 minutes, and broke him again on the way to a 4-2 lead in the second.
But Tabilo found his footing, turning the match into a tight back-and-forth battle and pulling back a break to lead 5-4. He then had Zverev on the ropes in the 10th game, threatening to take the set.
Zverev saved a pair of set points and broke Tabilo in the next game, but the Chilean promptly returned the favor to force a tiebreaker that was all Zverev.
Tabilo mustered two more break points in the opening game of the third set, both denied by Zverev winners. That was his last chance, as Zverev won the last four games to close out the match in two hours and 26 minutes.
"I am definitely happy with the improvements," Zverev said. "I spent 10 hours on the court in two matches, so I had to find my rhythm somehow, and I did. From the back of the court, I was much better."
He added that he lost focus toward the end of the second set but felt the first and third sets marked a big improvement over his earlier rounds.
Zverev will face Italian Luciano Darderi for a place in the quarterfinals after the 21st seed beat Australian wild card Dane Sweeny 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.
Elena Rybakina avenged her French Open defeat to Starodubtseva, beating the unseeded Ukrainian 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 to reach the last 16. The hard-hitting Kazakh, who claimed her second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January, had fallen to Starodubtseva in the second round at Roland Garros, a defeat that appeared to weigh on her as she struggled to find her rhythm in the opening set.
Starodubtseva took advantage of Rybakina's early struggles and broke for a 5-4 lead, but Rybakina steadied herself, breaking back with an angled drop shot to level the set.
She saved a set point in the tiebreaker with one of her 12 aces, then carried that momentum into the second set, capitalizing on a Starodubtseva double fault to open with a break and closing out the match in just under two hours.
"It was a tough match," Rybakina said. "I feel like it wasn't my best performance, but Yuliia is a great player. Last time we had a battle, too, and I'm glad I could win in straight sets."
Rybakina now needs just two more wins, reaching the semifinals, to be assured of supplanting Aryna Sabalenka atop the world rankings, even if Sabalenka wins a third straight U.S. Open title.
"Not there yet," Rybakina said. "It's still very far. I need to focus on my next match and not think about it."
Her next opponent will be four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, who beat Belgium's Elise Mertens 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
