Alexander Zverev breezes into US Open semi-finals with routine win over Lloyd Harris

Zverev let slip a two-set lead to lose to Dominic Thiem in last year’s final

Pa Sport Staff
Wednesday 08 September 2021 16:32 EDT
Alexander Zverev has reached his second successive US Open semi-final (Elise Amendola/AP)
Alexander Zverev has reached his second successive US Open semi-final (Elise Amendola/AP) (AP)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Alexander Zverev cruised into the US Open semi-finals with a straight-sets win against South Africa’s Lloyd Harris.

Fourth seed Zverev was untroubled after clinching a tight first-set tie-break and edged closer to a second successive final appearance at Flushing Meadows by defeating Harris 7-6 (6) 6-3 6-4 in two hours and eight minutes.

Harris, playing in his first Grand Slam quarter-final, went toe to toe with Zverev in the first set, breaking the German’s serve to take a 5-3 lead and then serving to go one set up.

But Zverev broke straight back and, after both players had held serve to force a tie-break, he kept his nerve as the tension mounted to win 8-6, despite two mini-breaks against him.

Zverev pounced again on Harris’ serve to open up a 3-0 lead in the second set and sealed it 6-3 with his first set point after 36 minutes.

Harris was broken in both his next service games to trail 4-0 in the third set and appeared to lose heart as Zverev closed in on victory.

World No46 Harris then rallied to extend the match. He broke Zverev for the second time to trail 4-2 and hauled himself back to 5-4, but it was a brief recovery.

Zverev, who let slip a two-set lead to lose to Dominic Thiem in last year’s final, avoided further scares, sealing victory on serve with his first match point.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in