Carlos Alcaraz is all set to take on Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals of the US Open 2023. Surpassing many expectations, the German star got past the man who was tipped most to take on Alcaraz in this tournament, Jannik Sinner. Zverev believes that he is back to his best after the 5-set win over Sinner and on hard courts, that makes him a dangerous proposition.
Interestingly, Alexander Zverev is one of the few players to have a better head-to-head against Carlos Alcaraz. Zverev leads 3-2, even as Alcaraz won their last clash in straight sets, which was in the Round of 16 at the Madrid Masters 2023.
Carlos Alcaraz has never beaten Alexander Zverev on hard courts
Alexander Zverev won his first-ever match against Carlos Alcaraz, winning their Round of 32 match in Acapulco back in 2021, 6-3, 6-1. In the same year, Zverev clinched another straight sets victory over the Spaniard in Vienna. This means that Alcaraz has never beaten the former World No.2 till date in a hard court match.
The Spaniard’s 2 victories against Alexander Zverev have come on clay courts. Although Alcaraz has definitely improved in the last 18 months to win 2 Grand Slam titles, it would be fair to say that he ran mostly into an out-of-sorts Zverev during that time. As a result, the US Open 2023 quarterfinal will be a battle of two players on the rise.
While Alcaraz does not mind biding his time to win points like most clay court players, Zverev is renowned to finish off points quickly with his aggressive groundstrokes from the baseline and has a backhand which many players envy till date. If Alcaraz attempts his now world-famous drop shots, Zverev’s reach to counter those is also one of the best in the business.
Zverev recently beat World No.3 Daniil Medvedev at the Cincinnati Masters, before losing to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. He is making progress as his win against Jannik Sinner was the second of his career against a top 10 player in Grand Slams. Co-incidentally, Zverev’s first was against Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open 2022 quarterfinals, as he won in 4 sets.
On the other hand, Carlos Alcaraz has not really been tested yet at the US Open, losing only one set to England’s Dan Evans. He recently admitted that hard courts are his favorite due to winning the title in NYC last year and also seeing his current form. With Tommy Paul and Jannik Sinner out of the tournament, Alcaraz’s path has become much simpler. As a result, while it is expected to be a tight contest, Carlos Alcaraz will start as the favorite against the experienced Alexander Zverev.
Alcaraz rubbishes foot injury rumors, ready for Zverev fight
In an interview at the US Open, Carlos Alcaraz admitted that it will be a tough quarterfinal for him. He is aware of Alexander Zverev bouncing back on the ATP Tour and their head-to-head record both. He was quoted as saying –
“Against Sascha (Zverev), the head-to-head as well is really, really close. We’ve played great matches. He’s playing really, really well. This year he’s finding his top level again.
“It’s going to be a really fun, fun match to watch tonight between them (Zverev and Sinner), and let’s see I going to play because going to be a really tough quarterfinal.”
When it comes to his rumored foot injury and his take on the pressure on him due to being the defending champion, Alcaraz continued –
“Well, it’s really tough playing in a Grand Slam. You play tough matches during two weeks. For me it’s normal that some pains came to your body, and you have to take care about it.
“It’s nothing serious, it’s just for prevention. I mean, I felt a little bit that pain on the left leg, but as I said nothing serious. Just taking care about it.
“I try not to think about the defending champion. I just try to be focus on my game, on my own game, on what I have to do to put my best level on court.
“For me, anything else matter than playing my level and be happy with the level that I’m playing on court. That’s the only thing I care about right now.
“I put out all the pressure that people put on you, on the defending champions. I just delete it and focus on my own game.”
This quarterfinal could easily be the second most awaited in the men’s singles draw after Ben Shelton vs Frances Tiafoe. It is likely that the winner of the Carlos Alcaraz vs Alexander Zverev clash would mostly make it to the finals as their semi-final opponent will be the winner of the Daniil Medvedev vs Andrey Rublev match. Although Zverev did beat Sinner, Alcaraz being in top form and fully fit to stretch himself especially in big matches, is a mouthwatering prospect.
