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Top seed Carlos Alcaraz needed a little more than two hours to beat 12th seed Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in the US Open quarterfinal on Wednesday, September 6.
Zverev did not put up much resistance and his efforts proved to be inadequate yet again in a Grand Slam. Alcaraz, meanwhile, is a couple of matches away from what would be a very creditable third Grand Slam title.
Alcaraz will face third seed and former champion Daniil Medvedev in the semifinal on Friday. While Medvedev should be a considerably more difficult proposition than Zverev, Alcaraz should still start as the favorite.
On that note, let us take a look at two things that stood out in Alcaraz's win against Zverev:
#1 Alcaraz’s crosscourt forehand troubled Zverev
As expected, Alcaraz used his crosscourt forehand extensively to make the German stretch towards his right side. Zverev often came up with a weak reply in the subsequent shot, leading to the Spaniard often dispatching the ball with his inside-out forehand.
That pattern was repeated throughout the match, as Zverev struggled to deal with the above tactic. He also failed to hit his down-the-line backhand as often as he would have liked. As a result, he failed to contend with Alcaraz from the baseline.
#2. Alcaraz dominated with his passing shots against Zverev
Zverev’s powerful first serve forced Alcaraz to make a few short returns in the first set and the former was able to dispatch the ball from the mid-court. He often made a dash to the net to try to finish points with volleys. However, it often did not prove to be a successful tactic, as Alcaraz's passing shots kept taking him by surprise.
In comparison, Alcaraz hit a few stupendous volleys to stamp his superiority at the net. He also opted for serve-and-volley at times and executed them perfectly. The Spaniard thus dominated the second and third sets, too, to register a comfortable win.
Zverev fared well with his first serve but was often found wanting on his second delivery. He managed to win only 33% of the points on his second serve in the match, while Alcaraz managed 62%. That was a big difference between the two, as Zverev was not able to break the 20-year-old even once in the match.
