Zverev survives slur to see off Sinner

Alexander Zverev won the late night battle in New York, ousting Italian Jannick Sinner in a thriller that ended at 1.40am, the German prevailing 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

The five-hour marathon on Arthur Ashe Stadium saw 106 winners, 56 of those coming from the German, as he hit 16 aces and won 70 per cent of his first service points.

But it didn’t come without controversy as during the fourth set a spectator had to be removed for shouting ‘Heil Hitler.’

Zverev complained to British umpire James Keothavong after hearing what he described as “the most famous Hitler phrase there is.”

Security locate the man and ejected him from the stadium.

Zverev won the first set before Sinner fought back to level and Zverev then made the most of his opponent’s injury to take the third.

Then Sinner found a new lease of life – at 1am – to win the fourth and force a decider.

For the Italian it was too little too late as Zverev recovered to take out the match and set up a quarter-final clash with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz who earlier had beaten Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi in straight sets.

“I guess I can say I’m back,” Zverev said after the match.

“This is exactly what I live for. This is what I love to do… playing at 1:30am, in front of a packed crowd in Arthur Ashe Stadium. It doesn’t get any better. This is one of the best moments of my career.”

Peter Rowe

Recent Posts

Nadal goes down in final match

Rafael Nadal lined up for what was to be the final match of his career…

2 days ago

Sinner flattens de Minaur in runaway home start

Jannik Sinner took charge in front of his home crowd on Sunday, crushing ATP Finals…

2 weeks ago

Madcap Medvedev suffers temperamental Turin Finals loss

Daniil Medvedev went into meltdown mode on Sunday during a highly charged 6-4, 6-3 loss, with opponent…

2 weeks ago

Team Sinner considering skipping Monte Carlo

Jannik Sinner could well be missing from the opening European clay event of next season…

2 weeks ago

Davis Cup Final to mark Nadal goodbye to tennis

Rafael Nadal will bring down the curtain on his career next month as he plays his…

1 month ago

Wimbledon lowers the boom on human linecalling

Wimbledon on Wednesday brought an end to human linecalling at the most traditional of the…

1 month ago