Germany's Alexander Zverev waves his racquet to the crowd after defeating Chile's Alejandro Tabilo during their men's singles third-round tennis match on day seven of the US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City.
Top seed Alexander Zverev picked up the pace at the US Open on Saturday, virtually sprinting to a 6-2, 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 victory over Alejandro Tabilo to reach the last 16 after laboring through a pair of marathon five-setters.
The German had already spent nine hours and 26 minutes on court in his first two matches — the most time a top seed has needed to reach the third round of a major since 1999.
"My coach was actually quite smart — he explained to me a best of five set match doesn't mean you have to play five sets," quipped the French Open champion, who appeared on a mission to end the trend against Tabilo.
Meanwhile the 25th-seeded Chilean was out to avenge a loss to Zverev in the second round last year on the same Arthur Ashe Stadium court.
