NEW YORK — Alexander Zverev does not consider himself the favourite to lift the US Open men's singles trophy despite being the only semi-finalist left with Grand Slam final experience, after rolling past Botic van de Zandschulp in straight sets to reach a third semi-final in New York. The world No. 2 completed a set of last-four appearances at all four Grand Slams this season, building on a breakthrough summer in which he lifted his maiden major at the French Open by defeating Flavio Cobolli in five sets in June and then reached his first Wimbledon final four weeks later in a loss to world No. 1 Jannik Sinner. He will next face Russian Karen Khachanov for a place in his second US Open final, with Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe contesting the other semi-final.
Despite the gap in major experience, Zverev dismissed the idea that seeding makes him the man to beat. “I think the person who’s going to win here is going to be the one that plays the best tennis. It’s sometimes as simple as that,” he said during his post-match press conference on Wednesday. “And yes, there are nerves, there are things that go on through your head when you’re trying to win your first Major. I’ve been there, trust me. I’ve had every single thought that can be in your head. But I think, at the end of the day, good tennis will prevail, and we’ll see who that will be on Friday and then also on Sunday.” He added, “I think the more often that you get to that stage, the more normal it becomes, which is something that you should never take for granted. I think it’s a very special feeling when it becomes normality.”
When pressed, Zverev singled out Shelton as the title favourite given the American's form through the hard-court swing and his title at the Canadian Open in Montreal. “I think Ben has been playing amazingly throughout the hard court swing,” Zverev said. “I think he has been playing better than me throughout the hard court swing and he’s won in Montreal. He has played an amazing match yesterday here against Carlos, so maybe from the seeding wise [I am favourite], but I think playing-wise he is playing amazing tennis as well. We are all in the semi-finals; we are four guys who deserve to be there, and we will see how it goes.” Should he reach the final, Zverev would hold a 5-0 head-to-head record against Shelton and a 9-1 record against Tiafoe.
Zverev said he stayed up until the early hours of Tuesday to watch Shelton's win over Carlos Alcaraz, which finished at 3:34am for the latest finish in tournament history. “Ben played extremely well from the baseline,” he said. “He was extremely stable from the baseline. I thought that was phenomenal to see. Of course, serving well, whatever, that’s normal for him. But I think from the baseline, his tennis was incredibly good. I think Alcaraz, you could see maybe that he was a bit rusty. He hasn’t played a top player in a while, because he was missing maybe a few more forehands than he used to. But I think credit to Ben. Ben played amazing.” He added, “Starting a 5-set tennis match at 11pm is anything but healthy for an athlete.”