Alexander Zverev arrived at Flushing Meadows as the No. 1 seed only because Jannik Sinner withdrew before the tournament with a knee injury. What has followed is one of the strangest openings anyone at the top of the men’s game has ever survived.

The 29-year-old is now the first top seed in the Open Era to play back-to-back five-set matches in the opening two rounds of a major, scraping past Lorenzo Sonego and then Quentin Halys deep into the New York night. The Halys match was a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-7(3), 6-3 grind.

Half the draw has collapsed

The seeds who were meant to police Zverev’s side of the bracket have been falling in almost every round. No. 3 Felix Auger-Aliassime went out to Karen Khachanov. No. 6 Alex de Minaur was beaten 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 by Botic van de Zandschulp, an unseeded Dutchman ranked outside the world’s top 60. No. 13 Lorenzo Musetti was thrown out in round one by qualifier Dane Sweeny.

That leaves Zverev as the only top-20 seed in his half of the draw before the semifinals.

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Zverev cruises past Tabilo

Against Alejandro Tabilo on Saturday, Zverev finally looked like a man who had won a Grand Slam three months ago. He needed just two hours and 26 minutes to see off the No. 25 seed 6-2, 7-6(2), 6-2.

Zverev credited a conversation with his coach for the change of gear.

“My coach was actually quite smart. He explained to me that a best-of-five-sets match doesn’t mean you have to play five sets,” Zverev told reporters after the win.

The breakthrough at a major that had eluded him for years came in June, when he beat Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-1 to win the French Open, ending a run of three previous major final defeats. New York is his chance to add a second Slam inside a single season.

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Darderi has beaten him before

Luciano Darderi is not a straightforward assignment. Darderi has beaten Zverev before, knocking him out in the fourth round in Rome in May.

If Zverev gets through, his quarterfinal opponent will emerge from Monday night’s Van de Zandschulp against Arthur Gea on Grandstand. Gea is a French lucky loser ranked No. 87; Van de Zandschulp, world No. 70, is already through two upsets in this section.

Zverev plays Darderi in the fourth round on Tuesday, September 8.

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