NEW YORK, 07 September, 2026 (Ghufran): Top-seeded German tennis star Alexander Zverev advanced to the last 16 of the US Open on Saturday with an impressive straight-sets victory over Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo, winning 6-2, 7-6 (7/2), 6-2. Zverev stepped up his performance against Tabilo after enduring marathon five-set battles in his opening two matches. The German had already spent a total of nine hours and 26 minutes on court in his first two matches, the most time a top seed had needed to reach the third round of a Grand Slam since 1999. The French Open champion jokingly said his coach had reminded him that a best-of-five match did not necessarily have to go to five sets. Tabilo, the 25th seed from Chile, entered the match hoping to avenge his defeat to Zverev in the second round at the same Arthur Ashe Stadium court last year. Zverev produced an extremely efficient performance in the opening set and did not face a single break point. He won all 11 points behind his first serve and five of seven points on his second serve. Zverev broke Tabilo twice to take the opening set in 38 minutes and broke again in the second set to move 4-2 ahead. However, Tabilo settled into the match and turned the contest into a much tighter battle. Tabilo created his first real opportunity when he moved ahead 0-30 on Zverev’s serve in the sixth game of the second set, but the German quickly eliminated the danger. Tabilo then broke back in the eighth game and won three consecutive games to take a 5-4 lead. In the 10th game, he threatened to break Zverev and take the set, but Zverev saved two set points before breaking Tabilo in the following game. The Chilean immediately responded with another break to force a tiebreak, but Zverev dominated the decider.
Tabilo remained undaunted and earned two break points in the opening game of the third set, but Zverev denied both chances with winning shots. That proved to be Tabilo’s final opportunity as Zverev won the last four games to seal the match in two hours and 26 minutes. Speaking after the match, Zverev said he was pleased with the improvements in his performance. He said that after spending around 10 hours on court in two matches, he had to find his rhythm and managed to do so, while his game from the back of the court was also much better. Zverev admitted he was not satisfied with the second set, particularly its closing stages, when he felt he had lost focus and was not moving or playing as well as he could. However, he said the first and third sets represented a major improvement compared with his previous matches. Zverev also thanked the fans who remained at the stadium until after 1:00 am. A lengthy opening night match between Iva Jovic and Alexandra Eala meant that Zverev and Tabilo did not take to the court until nearly 11:00 pm. Zverev will next face Italy’s Luciano Darderi for a place in the quarter-finals. The 21st seed defeated Australian wild card Dane Sweeny 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 to book his place in the next round.