Alexander Zverev was forced to apologise to umpire James Keothavong after a bizarre 'missing' racket incident during his US Open quarter-final victory over Botic van de Zandschulp. The German won in straight sets, 6-2 7-5 6-1, to set up a semi-final clash with Karen Khachanov, who beat an injured Alexander Blockx overnight.
Racket mix-up causes confusion
As Zverev was about to serve for the first set, he went to his chair to grab another racket but found it was not where he expected. He turned to Keothavong to complain, seemingly accusing somebody of stealing his equipment, and threw his arms up in the air to signal his frustration.
After a few moments, Zverev checked the outer pocket of his bag, where he found the 'missing' racket. He promptly apologised, sheepishly raising his hands toward Keothavong after realising it had been in his bag the whole time.
Zverev advances to semi-finals
The incident did not throw Zverev off his stride, with the 29-year-old securing a commanding victory to book his place in the US Open semi-finals. If he beats Khachanov on Friday, he will face either Ben Shelton or Frances Tiafoe in Sunday's championship match.
Speaking after his win over Van de Zandschulp, Zverev said: "I think you saw in the first two rounds I didn't really play well. In other tournaments I would be out in the first round. But here, I can fight back and play best of five sets, play four-and-a-half hours. I've started playing better throughout the tournament and I'm definitely happy to be in the semi-finals here."
Zverev has reached the semi-finals at all four majors in 2026 and is the only Grand Slam winner left standing in New York. "I don't take it for granted at all," he added. "I know it can change in a heartbeat in tennis. I think confidence is something that is incredibly important but also can go away quite quickly."
