Felix Auger-Aliassime stuns No 3 Zverev to return to US Open second week | US Open Tennis 2025
Felix Auger-Aliassime took over the last 16 of the US Open on Saturday evening with a return victory leading to the world n ° 3 Alexander Zverev, eliminating one of the favorites of the title 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4, 6-4 on the Louis Armstrong stadium.
The 25th Canadian seeded had not reached the second week in New York since his semi-final in 2021, but summoned some of the best tennis in his career to win a first Grand Chelem victory over an opponent among the first five. The match extended to three hours and 48 minutes and ended shortly before midnight, delaying the night session that followed.
“It’s really good,” said Auger-Aliassime. “I’m still young, but I’ve been working for years. Some people may have looked at me for the first time this evening, and showing this kind of tennis on this scene means a lot. The tournament is not over, the work is not done, but nights like these make me move forward. ”
Zverev, a finalist of 2020 in New York and semi-finalist at Australian Open earlier this year, had fully watched control after having broken the opening match and sealing the first set with ease. But once Auger-Aliassime has ahead of a break in exhausting equality of the second set, saved from the edge by a daring drop and helped over the line by a net cord, Momentum has moved decisively.
The German has become more and more agitated while his favorites missed, slamming his racket after conceding an early break in the third set. Auger-Aliassime consolidated with clutch portions and winners of the forehand, keeping Zverev under pressure during prolonged gatherings. When the Canadian broke out to love the fourth set halfway, Armstrong’s wrapped crowd felt the upheaval. He closed it in service, pumping his fist while Zverev has been heading for his first American open outing since 2018.
To Auger-Aliassime, the result was a tonic after uneven seasons and recurring injuries. Once, a future champion, he admitted that the belief had been tested. “I had ups and downs,” he said. “But you continue to work, you continue to believe. Tonight shows what is possible.”
Zverev, still pursuing a first Grand Chelem crown at 28, leaves New York in the third round for the first time in seven years. His swing of hard summer lands failed after a defeat in the first round in Wimbledon, despite a strong spring which included another race in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros.
Auger-Aliassime goes to a fourth round meeting with Andrey Rublev in Russia, the 15th seeded, which earned Coleman Wong Cameron Norrie from Hong Kong in five sets earlier. Rublev has never progressed beyond the stadium in the quarter-finals during a major in 10 trials, but was coherent at this level, doing the second week in New York for the sixth time.
Elsewhere in the male draw, Jannik Sinner, the world’s n ° 1 and one of the favorites of the championship, swept away Denis Shapovalov of Canada in four sets to keep his title of push intact.
On the women’s side, Iga Swiatek recovered 5-1 in the opening set to oust Anna Kalinskaya in two, extending her undefeated sequence at night sessions in New York. The match that followed on Armstrong, Maria Sakkari against Beatriz Haddad Maia, started at 11:28 p.m. due to the Auger -Aliassime – Zverev marathon.
The tension of the calendar again highlighted the current debate on the finishes at the end of the evening at the Grand Slams. The United States Open introduced a rule last year allowing referees to move unleashed matches at 11:15 p.m. in the external courts, but with Armstrong already deeply at stake, there was no realistic option.
