Arthur Ashe Stadium: German top seed Alexander Zverev joked that he is not sure what to do with the hours saved from his recent two early finishes at the US Open 2026 after playing two gruelling five-setters.
Zverev moved past Italy's Luciano Darderi in two hours and 31 minutes in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(3) in the round of 16, after having beaten Alejandro Tabilo in two hours and 26 minutes in the round of 32. However, he was pushed to the limits in the first two matches, when he spent a combined nine hours and 26 minutes on court in his five-setter wins.
The recent wins, he joked, left him confused about where to go after having been at the courts for around 2 am (local time) in his first two matches.
"To be honest, I don't know what to do with myself because it is before midnight," Zverev said with a smile in the post-match talk. "So, am I going back to the practice court or am I going out to a bar, I don't know. Unfortunately, that was a joke; relax."
Speaking on his performance, the German said that he felt happy with the level going up after each match. "But I am definitely happy; compared to the first two matches, the level has been going up. Of course that is the goal, and I am happy about that," he said.
Zverev began the match after securing an early double break and went on to bag the first set with ease. He started the second with another double break as he enjoyed his time at the Arthur Ashe Stadium before the Italian mounted a comeback to trouble the top seed in the third set.
"I thought my level was very consistent. It was just that he started playing incredibly well in the third set," Zverev said on Darderi's third set performance.
"I barely saw anyone hit the ball as hard as he did consistently in the third set. Credit to him, he made it very difficult for me, but I am happy to be in the quarterfinals, happy to be playing this way," the current Roland Garros winner added.
Zverev will be up against Botic van de Zandschulp in his quarterfinal, as the Dutchman came from two sets down and saved a match point to beat Arthur Gea in the pre-quarters.
"I barely saw anyone hit the ball as hard as he did consistently in the third set. Credit to him, he made it very difficult for me, but I am happy to be in the quarterfinals, happy to be playing this way," the current Roland Garros winner added.
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"For me, I was looking for my form. Haven’t found it yet, but hopefully in a couple days I find it. It’s been a crazy comeback. Five hours, [almost] 15 minutes. Still standing, so that’s a good thing," he added.