By Frank Pingue
NEW YORK (Reuters) – German sixth seed Alexander Zverev advanced to the fourth round of the U.S. Open for the first time with a 6-7(4) 7-6(4) 6-3 7-6(3) win over Slovenia’s Aljaz Bedene on Saturday.
Zverev, who is the next highest seeded player left in the bottom half of the draw after Rafa Nadal, won six of the last seven points in the final-set tiebreak to close out the win.
The 22-year-old German fired down 25 aces and won 80% of his first-serve points as he improved his head-to-head record with Bedene to 4-0.
Up next for Zverev, who could meet Nadal in the quarter-finals, will be either 20th seed Argentine Diego Schwartzman or American Tennys Sandgren.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue; Editing by Toby Davis)
