NEW YORK: German sixth seed Alexander Zverev advanced to the fourth round of the US Open for the first time with a 6-7(4) 7-6(4) 6-3 7-6(3) win over Slovenia’s Aljaz Bedene on Saturday.
Zverev, who is the next highest-seeded player left in the bottom half of the draw after Rafa Nadal, won six of the last seven points in the final-set tiebreak to close out the win.
The 22-year-old German fired down 25 aces and won 80% of his first-serve points as he improved his head-to-head record with Bedene to 4-0.
Up next for Zverev, who could meet Nadal in the quarter-finals, will be either 20th seed Argentine Diego Schwartzman or American Tennys Sandgren.