The 2026 US Open has delivered another dramatic chapter of men’s singles action, with German top seed Alexander Zverev etching his name into the record books while producing a dominant display just hours after pulling an all-nighter to watch one of the tournament’s biggest upsets.
Zverev secured his spot in the final four of the Flushing Meadows major with a commanding straight-sets victory over Dutch contender Botic van de Zandschulp, wrapping up a 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 win on the iconic Arthur Ashe Stadium’s night court. What makes this achievement even more remarkable is the 29-year-old’s admission that he stayed up until 3:30 a.m. local time to watch Ben Shelton’s stunning defeat of defending champion Carlos Alcaraz – a clash that finished at 3:34 a.m., marking the latest completed match in US Open history.
Far from regretting the late night, Zverev downplayed any impact on his performance, noting he had planned to sleep in until 1 p.m. anyway. This is not the first time the German has navigated a grueling late schedule at this year’s tournament: his first three matches ended at 1:55 a.m., 2:15 a.m., and 1:09 a.m. respectively, giving him plenty of practice adjusting to erratic sleep patterns.
With this quarter-final win, Zverev not only keeps alive his bid for a second Grand Slam title and a third consecutive major final – he also achieves a career first: reaching the semi-finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments in a single calendar season. The milestone comes months after he ended his long wait for a maiden major crown at the 2026 French Open, and the German says the achievement carries special meaning.
“The more often you get to that stage, the more normal it becomes, which is something that you should never take for granted,” Zverev said after his win. “I think it’s a very special feeling when it becomes normality.”
Beyond the season-defining semi-final streak, Zverev has already broken a 37-year-old German record this year: his 23 Grand Slam singles wins in 2026 mark the most by any German male player in a single season, surpassing Boris Becker’s 22 wins set back in 1989. While he enters the semi-finals as the odds-on favorite following Alcaraz’s shock exit, Zverev acknowledged he has had to fight through inconsistent form to reach this stage. He was pushed to five-set thrillers in his opening two matches, and has conceded 80 games en route to the semi-finals – the second-highest total for any top seed at this stage of the tournament, behind only Rafael Nadal’s 85 games in 2018.
“In other tournaments I would be out in the first round, but here I can fight back and play best of five sets, play four-and-a-half hours,” Zverev said. “I’ve started playing better throughout the tournament and I’m definitely happy to be in the semi-finals here.”
Waiting for Zverev in the semi-finals is unseeded Russian Karen Khachanov, who advanced when Belgian rising star Alexander Blockx was forced to retire from their quarter-final clash. Blockx, 21, was playing in the first Grand Slam quarter-final of his career, and had already never advanced past the second round of any major before this year’s US Open. His dream run came to a disappointing end Wednesday after a cascade of injury issues: he first received medical attention for a foot blister, then began struggling with a sudden back problem, compounded by a rib injury that had already forced him to consider retirement in his fourth-round win over Francisco Cerundolo.
“During the match, it was quite funny to me. I just had to laugh it off because it was just something new the whole time,” Blockx said after announcing his retirement when the scoreline read 6-2, 7-5, 3-2 in Khachanov’s favor. “I felt it was getting worse and worse. I couldn’t land without feeling pain, without feeling my back, my ribs. So I just didn’t want to … maybe make it worse to miss the entire season.”
Khachanov extended well wishes to the young Belgian after the match, wishing him a speedy recovery. For the 30-year-old Russian, the semi-final spot is his first at a Grand Slam since the 2023 Australian Open, and comes amid a difficult stretch of form that has dropped his world ranking to 50 – leaving him unseeded at a major for the first time since 2018.
To beat Zverev and reach his first ever Grand Slam final, Khachanov said he will need to bring his absolute best tennis. “He’s been in the top five for so many years. This year he did also step forward. He won his first Grand Slam, played the final in Wimbledon, as well. He’s coming up really in hot form,” Khachanov said of his upcoming opponent.
Zverev, for his part, said he is under no illusions about the challenge Khachanov poses, joking that the Russian is nicknamed “The Professor” among players for his encyclopedic knowledge of the sport. “He knows everything about tennis, and he knows every single string tension, knows what everybody does, so that’s quite fun,” Zverev said.