FAA stuns Zverev in major USO upset

Felix Auger-Aliassime scored the biggest upset so far at the US Open passed the halfway point, with the Canadian knocking out third seed Alexander Zverev  4-6, 7-6(7), 6-4, 6-4.

Zverev, three times a Grand Slam runner-up, could not handle a barrage of 50 winners against a player he had defeated in six of eight previous matches.

The German missed his chance on a set point for a two-sets-to-love lead in the nighttime showpiece. The Canadian added the New York victory ot his five-set win over Zverev at Wimbledon four years ago.

“The job’s not done, the tournament’s still going, but this means a lot to me,” FAA said. “It was a nervous start, then after it was pretty crazy, pretty flawless. I was seeing it big today.

“It’s good when you feel like that on the court, for sure.”

The opening game of the Ashe court third-rounder took 10 minutes as Zverev took the early lead with a break. But with much of the crowd behind him, the Canadian who once stood sixth in the rankings started to get chances of his own.

FAA broke back in the fourth game, with thepair exchanging another set of breaks before Zverev seized the set.

But his 27th-ranked opponent began a fightback in the second set which eventually led to the knockout after nearly four hours on court and into the Sunday morning hours.

Victory was the biggest success for FAA since defeating ATP No. 2 Rafael Nadal at the ATP Finals three years ago.

FAA, a 2021 semi-finalist here, now plays 15th seed Andrey Rublev, who defeated Hong Kong breakthrough Colemon Wong in five sets. Auger-Aliassime has not played for a grand Slam quarter-final spot since the 2022 Australian Open.

“I feel like tonight everything came together very nicely, and all the things I’ve been working on have paid off tonight,” the winner said. “It’s a great boost of confidence.”

Alexander Bublik lines up as the fourth-round opponent of Jannik Sinner after the Kazakh defeated American Tommy Paul in a five-setter, winning 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-1. 

Bublik, winner of three titles over the summer, extended his win streak to 11 matches against an opponent suffering with possible abdominal muscle problems.