Zverev could achieve a historic milestone at this US Open

Alexander Zverev is two wins away from reaching a new Grand Slam final, but his possible presence in the last match of the US Open 2026 would hide a statistic as curious as it is extraordinary: the German could reach the final without having faced a single Top 20 player. Something that, by the way, has happened to him before.

Zverev, ranked number two and top seed in New York after Jannik Sinner's withdrawal, is currently in the quarter-finals after defeating Luciano Darderi, ranked 22. Zverev began the tournament by defeating Lorenzo Sonego, ranked 89 in the world, in a grueling five-set match. He then needed another five sets to eliminate Quentin Halys, ranked 52.

The situation did not change in the following rounds. In the third round, he eliminated Alejandro Tabilo, ranked 28. In the quarter-finals, Zverev will face Botic van de Zandschulp, ranked 70 in the world, who has just come off a marathon match lasting over five hours.

If he overcomes the Dutchman, his opponent for a spot in the final will come from the match between Karen Khachanov and Alexander Blockx. The Belgian appears in this US Open around number 34 in the ranking, while Khachanov also started the tournament outside the top twenty.

Zverev's potential path to the final would look like this:

1R: Sonego (89)
2R: Halys (52)
3R: Tabilo (28)
4R: Darderi (22)
CF: Van de Zandschulp (70)
SF: Khachanov or Blockx (34)

Therefore, if Zverev wins his next two matches, he will arrive at the US Open final without having faced a single Top 20 player over six rounds.

What is truly remarkable is that this would not be the first time it has happened. Zverev previously reached the 2020 US Open final without facing any Top 20 players and found himself in the same circumstance this season at Roland Garros 2026, a tournament he ended up winning.

If he completes this path now, the German would accumulate three Grand Slam finals in this century reached without previously defeating a Top 20, two of them in the same season. Something totally unusual that has only happened 10 times in this century, with two of them for the German. Thus, it would be 3 out of 11 in this century for Sascha if he manages to do it at this US Open.

A statistic that does not diminish the merit of what has been achieved, as the draw opens up precisely because other favorites do not survive, but it perfectly reflects the unpredictable nature of a Grand Slam.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Zverev podría conseguir un hito histórico en este US Open