After His Paris Breakthrough, Zverev Targets New York: “I Lied to Myself”

Alexander Zverev took another step toward a second Grand Slam title in New York with a straight-sets victory over Alejandro Tabilo. The second seed won 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-2 and reached the US Open round of 16 for only the second time in his career.

The draw has also begun to open on Zverev's side. American Taylor Fritz, a difficult opponent for him in the past, has already been eliminated, as has Italian Flavio Cobolli, whom Zverev faced in this year's French Open final. Zverev won his first Grand Slam title in Paris on June 7, and he now recognizes another significant opportunity in New York.

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I am moving in the right direction, and I am happy that I finished this match in three sets. I can play better, but for now I am happy to be advancing. This was a better performance than my first two matches. The first and third sets were completely different from the tennis I had played in recent days.

“I am moving in the right direction, and I am happy that I finished this match in three sets. I can play better, but for now I am happy to be advancing. This was a better performance than my first two matches. The first and third sets were completely different from the tennis I had played in recent days,” said the 29-year-old from Hamburg.

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I lied to myself.

His next opponent will be Italy's Luciano Darderi, the tournament's 22nd seed. The two have met twice, both times on clay, and have split those matches. Zverev will nevertheless enter Monday's match as the clear favorite.

The German still remembers how the situation in Paris affected him when the draw began to favor him. Carlos Alcaraz missed that tournament through injury and Jannik Sinner was eliminated, leaving Zverev as the last of the three leading favorites. He repeatedly said he was thinking only about the next match, but later admitted that was not entirely true. “I lied to myself,” he said after winning in Paris. “I told myself that I was looking at one match at a time and that I could control only the things I could control. But the fact that Sinner was out and Alcaraz was absent made me nervous. I did not sleep at all one night. Suddenly I knew that, of the three big favorites, I was the last one left in the draw.”

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I told myself that I was looking at one match at a time and that I could control only the things I could control. But the fact that Sinner was out and Alcaraz was absent made me nervous. I did not sleep at all one night. Suddenly I knew that, of the three big favorites, I was the last one left in the draw.

New York presents a different picture. Alcaraz is competing and sits in the lower half of the draw, so he could meet Zverev only in the final. Danil Medvedev and Ben Shelton are also in Alcaraz's section. “Alcaraz is getting better with every match, while I have not yet shown my best tennis. I am improving, and that is the most important thing. But I have to remain focused on myself,” Zverev said.

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Alcaraz is getting better with every match, while I have not yet shown my best tennis. I am improving, and that is the most important thing. But I have to remain focused on myself.