US Open 2023: Carlos Alcaraz vs Alexander Zverev preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick

Fixture: (1) Carlos Alcaraz vs (12) Alexander Zverev

Date: September 6, 2023

Tournament:US Open 2023

Round: Quarterfinal

Venue: New York, United States

Surface: Hard

Prize money: $65,000,000

Carlos Alcaraz vs Alexander Zverev preview

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz will play against Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals of the 2023 US Open on Wednesday.

Alcaraz continued his quest for consecutive titles here with wins over Dominik Koepfer, Lloyd Harris and Dan Evans. He faced Matteo Arnaldi in the fourth round. The Spaniard captured the first two sets rather comfortably, despite the occasional resistance from his opponent.

It looked like Arnaldi was about to make the match more competitive when he snagged a break to go 2-1 up in the third set. However, Alcaraz broke back immediately to level the score. The World No. 1 then broke the Italian's serve in the last game of the match to wrap up a 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 win.

Zverev knocked out Aleksandar Vukic, Daniel Altmaier and Grigor Dimitrov to set up a fourth round duel against Jannik Sinner. The German initially squandered his lead in the first set, but regrouped to bag the last three games in the set to claim the opener.

The second set played out in a similar manner, except it went Sinner's way in the end. Zverev saved five break points in the fourth game of the third set to make it 2-2, after which he took the next four games to seize another set.

With his back up against the wall, Sinner found a way to keep himself alive by nabbing the fourth set. Zverev set the tone in the deciding set by going 3-0 up. He held on to the lead until the end of the match to win 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

Carlos Alcaraz vs Alexander Zverev head-to-head

Zverev leads Alcaraz 3-2 in the head-to-head. The Spaniard won their most recent encounter at the 2023 Madrid Open in straight sets.

Carlos Alcaraz vs Alexander Zverev odds

(Odds will be added once they're available)

Carlos Alcaraz vs Alexander Zverev prediction

The two won their previous round matches in a contrasting manner. While Alcaraz made light work of Arnaldi, Zverev was tested thoroughly by Sinner. The Spaniard's key stats were pretty good as he won 78% of his first serve points and hit 31 winners compared to 22 unforced errors.

Zverev, on the other hand, won 70% of his first serve points and even fired 16 aces. He hit a total of 56 winners during the course of his marathon win against Sinner and committed 46 unforced errors.

Zverev also came forward to finish off points and found some modest success in doing so as he won 57% of those approaches. The tactic did throw Sinner off his game and he could attempt to do the same against Alcaraz.

Both of Alcaraz's victories against Zverev have been on clay, with the latter winning both of their matches on hardcourts. This was before the Spaniard's breakthrough, so their upcoming battle could go in a different direction.

With Zverev's fourth round contest going on for more than four hours and concluding just before 2 a.m., fatigue could hamper him in the next round. Nevertheless, given Alcaraz's form this season, it could prove to be a moot point. The defending champion will be expected to make it through this clash.

Pick: Carlos Alcaraz to win in four sets.