For the first time at the US Open this year, Alexander Zverev won in straight sets, beating Alejandro Tabilo to book his place in the fourth round.

Having gone the distance in two late-night thrillers, Zverev made lighter work of his third-round match, though he still had to overcome a slight wobble in the second set to win 6-2 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 in two and a half hours.

Zverev started the match on top, reeling off the first four games, including a break in the opener, to send out a statement.

Tabilo did defend the first two set points he faced on his own serve, but the top seed then got a love-hold to take the lead.

Another break early in the second set meant Zverev appeared in total control at 4-2 up, but Tabilo staged a comeback and even earned two set points on the German's serve, though he could not convert them and was pegged back at 5-5.

The pair then traded breaks to force a tie-break where Zverev reeled off six straight points to put himself on the brink of the next round.

Zverev fended off two break points in the first game of the third set, but stayed patient and won the final four games, converting his second match point to get over the line.

"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 joked following his win.

"I didn't know that, but I am definitely happy with the improvements. Definitely happy that my level is going in the right direction. I am happy to be in the second week."

The top seed is through to R4 in NYC!@AlexZverev reaches the milestone after getting past Tabilo 6-2, 7-6(2), 6-2.@usopen | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/kVQ8udogrj

— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 6, 2026

Learner Tien will join the French Open champion in the next round after he advanced with a hard-fought 6-3 1-6 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 6-4 victory over Jakub Mensik.

Tien came out on top in the marathon three-hour, 24-minute contest that spilled over into the early hours of Sunday morning to reach the fourth round for the first time.

Zverev gets back on track

Zverev is through to the fourth round of the US Open for the sixth time, but it is perhaps one of his tougher runs to get to that stage.

Despite finally getting a straight-sets win, Zverev still faced eight break points, saving six of them, but he will not care how he did it, just that he is into his 26th round of 16 at grand slams.

He will face Luciano Darderi next, after the Italian dispatched Australian wildcard Dane Sweeny to reach the fourth round of the US Open for the first time in his career.

The last time the pair faced off was in Rome back in May, with Darderi saving four match points to upset Zverev, also in the fourth round.

As for Tien, he became the youngest American to reach the US Open fourth round (20 years old), matching Andy Roddick's record, who was also 20 years old when he reached that stage in New York in 2002.

Next up for the home hope is a clash with Karen Khachanov, who is through to the last 16 for the first time since 2022.