Alexander Zverev was perhaps the last man to open his ticket in the second round of the US, but he hopes that it is only the first step to finally break through with a major.
After WTA World No. 3 Coco Gauff’s Drie-SET Thriller had pushed his start time back on Tuesday evening, held Zverev for a 6-2, 7-6 (4), 6-4 victory over Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
“It’s great to see the love for tennis in New York, every year. It’s almost 1 hour and it’s a Tuesday, not Saturday night … So thanks to everyone who has stayed,” Zverev said in his interview on the entire country. “Coco had a fantastic game, so I would probably have gone home after that game!
“It’s great to start a tournament with a night session about Arthur Ashe Stadium, the largest stadium we have in the world.”
Flying to R2! ✈️@Alexzverev dismissed tabilo 6-2 7-6 (4) 6-4.@Usopen | #Usopen pic.twitter.com/tor2ft6zu5
– ATP Tour (@atptour) August 27, 2025
Zverev is one of the six former finalists in the field, and few know the sting of missed opportunities like him. He was painfully close to his first big title on the 2020 US Open, just to waste a lead of two sets and fall to Dominic Thiem in a fifth set of Tie-Break-a match that he gave that he “had to win” when he reflected last week.
Since then, the German has disputed two major finals, both against the current dominant forces of the sport. Last year he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in five with Roland Garros and Jannik Sinner in three on the Australian Open in January, with the couple now won the last seven Majors together.
If Zverev wants to change this year’s almost -missers in a girl’s title at the US Open, he may have to go through both men to do it. The number 3 in the PIF ATP ranking is sown to meet title defender Sinner in the semi-final and five-time big winner Alcaraz in the championship competition.
But first the focus of Zverev is on a second round meeting with Jacob Fearnley, which he leads 2-0 in their Lexus ATP Head2head series, including a starting win on the way to the final in Melbourne this year.
Arriving in New York after the back of successive semi -final performances in Toronto and Cincinnati, Zverev was made to work against Tabilo despite the score of the straight sets. He saved all six breaking points with which he was confronted, including a set of point at 5-6 in the second, and kept his calm to prevent a long night.
“It was sometimes not great, but I won in Straight sets and I am ready. It is also very important that I am ready at 1 hour and not 3 hours, just look ahead to the tournament,” Zverev added. “There is a lot to build, a lot to improve, and I look ahead to Thursday.”
Zverev will meet FearNley for the third time on hard courts in 2025 when they collide on Thursday. Their first meeting came in the third round of the Australian, with the former Nitto ATP Finals champion claimed a starting victory before he went all the way to the final.
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