NEW YORK, Sept 5 \u2014 Alexander Zverev has already battled twice to the wee hours to pull out five-set victories at the US Open, and the top-seeded German will anchor the night session again on Saturday as he takes on Francisco Cerundolo for a place in the last 16.<\/p>\n
The evening will start with an exciting clash of young WTA stars \u2013 and friends and sometimes doubles partners \u2013 Iva Jovic and Alexandra Eala.<\/p>\n
Former women\u2019s champions Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka and Iga Swiatek vie for fourth-round spots along with second-ranked Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina and French Open winner Mirra Andreeva.<\/p>\n
In a men\u2019s draw thrown open by upsets to third-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime, fourth-seeded Novak Djokovic and No.6 Alex de Minaur, 20-year-old American Learner Tien will try to follow up his emotional win over French veteran Gael Monfils when he fights Jakub Mensik for place in the last 16.<\/p>\n
AFP Sport looks at three matches to watch on Day 7 of the US Open:<\/p>\n
Alexander Zverev (GER x1) v Alejandro Tabilo (CHI x25)<\/p>\n
Zverev leads head to head 2-0<\/p>\n
Over two five-setters Zverev has already spent nine hours and 26 minutes on court \u2014 the most time a top seed has needed to reach the third round of a major since 1999.<\/p>\n
Zverev says he feels fine physically, but he knows he\u2019ll have to play better if he wants to add a second Grand Slam title to the French Open trophy he captured this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a skill to win ugly when you\u2019re not playing great tennis,\u201d Zverev said. \u201cI think I\u2019ve mastered that right now I hope I\u2019ll start playing better tennis. New York has always been difficult for me … but I hope I\u2019ll find something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tabilo, ranked 28th in the world, is in the third round of the US Open for the first time \u2014 and wants to avenge his second-round loss to Zverev on Ashe last year.<\/p>\n
Madison Keys (USA x22) v Qinwen Zheng (CHN)<\/p>\n
Head to head level 1-1<\/p>\n
Paris Olympics gold medallist Zheng is relishing every victory after a long recovery and rocky return in the wake of elbow surgery last year.<\/p>\n
The former world number four slipped so far down the rankings she had to qualify for the US Open, a boon in terms of sharpening her game but an admitted blow to the ego of player more used to featuring among the top seeds.<\/p>\n
American Keys, the 2025 Australian Open champion, will have the crowd behind her on Grandstand court and while her road to the third round hasn\u2019t been as arduous as that of Zheng she\u2019s been tested. Keys saved five match points in her second-round win over Anna Bondar.<\/p>\n
Iva Jovic (USA x14) v Alexandra Eala (PHI x17)<\/p>\n
Jovic leads head to head 2-0<\/p>\n
Jovic, 18, is vying to improve on her best career Grand Slam showing \u2013 a quarter-final run at the Australian Open this year. She shot to prominence with her maiden WTA title at Guadalajara last year at the age of 17 and arrived at Flushing Meadows at a career-high ranking of 14 in the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 21-year-old Eala she\u2019ll face a global sensation from Quezon City at tournaments around the world and she cemented her arrival among the elite with her first title in Washington last month.<\/p>\n
Both of Jovic\u2019s victories over Eala came before that breakthrough title \u2013 in the first round at Roland Garros this year and in the round of 16 at Queens Club in London.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I\u2019m super excited [to face Eala],\u201d Jovic said after her 6-4, 6-4 win over Briton Francesca Jones in Thursday\u2019s second round.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m super excited to face (Eala),\u201d Jovic said. \u201cThe atmosphere is gonna be amazing, and she\u2019s been playing some great tennis.\u201d \u2014 AFP<\/p>\n
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