Zverev powers into US Open semi-finals after defeating Van de Zandschulp

Top seed Alexander Zverev continued his pursuit of a second Grand Slam title by reaching the US Open semi-finals with a commanding straight-sets victory over Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp on Wednesday.

The world number two, who claimed his maiden Grand Slam crown at the French Open in June, produced a dominant display at Arthur Ashe Stadium, defeating the 70th-ranked Van de Zandschulp 6-2, 7-5, 6-1.

The 29-year-old German, who finished runner-up at the US Open in 2020, will now meet unseeded Russian Karen Khachanov in the last four on Friday.

Zverev Takes Control

Zverev looked comfortable from the outset, breaking Van de Zandschulp twice in the opening set to establish an early advantage.

The German’s confidence continued to grow as the match progressed, despite admitting that he had struggled during the early rounds of the tournament.

“I think you saw in the first two rounds, I really didn’t play well,” Zverev said.

“In other tournaments I would be out in the first round, but here I can fight back and play best of five sets, play 4-1/2 hours. I’ve started playing better throughout the tournament, and I’m definitely happy to be in the semi-finals here.”

Van de Zandschulp offered much stronger resistance in the second set and appeared to have a chance to bring the match level when he earned a set point while leading 5-4.

However, the Dutchman failed to capitalise as a missed return allowed Zverev to hold and level the set at 5-5.

Zverev then turned the pressure up again, breaking in the following game when Van de Zandschulp sent a forehand wide to move 6-5 ahead. The German comfortably held serve to take the set and establish a commanding 2-0 lead.

Van de Zandschulp Fades

Any hopes of a comeback quickly disappeared in the third set.

Van de Zandschulp fell two breaks behind as Zverev raced into a 4-1 lead before the German struck again in the seventh game.

With his opponent unable to find a response, Zverev closed out the match 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 to book his place in the final four.

The victory puts Zverev two wins away from adding the US Open title to his Grand Slam collection, while his next challenge will come against Khachanov in Friday’s semi-final.

US Open 2026

The US Open is the fourth and final Grand Slam tournament of the tennis season, taking place from August 30 to September 13 at Flushing Meadows in New York City.

The prestigious hard-court event brings together the world’s leading tennis stars as they compete for one of the sport’s biggest prizes.