Alexander Zverev overcame Botic van de Zandschulp, and a lack of sleep, to take his place in the US Open semi-finals.

Zverev stayed up until well beyond 3:30am local time in New York City on Wednesday morning to take in the thrilling clash between Ben Shelton and Carlos Alcaraz.

The top seed was then in action himself later in the day, but it was a case of no sleep, no problem as Zverev dispatched Van de Zandschulp 6-2 7-5 6-1.

"I watched Shelton-Alcaraz until 3.30am last night," Zverev said.

"I did not go to bed, I was up late, I was watching TV because I was sleeping in until 1pm anyway."

Zverev, who won his first grand slam title earlier this year when he triumphed at Roland-Garros, will take on Karen Khachanov, who advanced after Alexander Blockx retired trailing 6-2 7-5 3-2, in the last four.

It is the first time Zverev has reached the semi-finals in all four majors in a single season.

80 - Alexander Zverev has conceded 80 games at this year’s US Open – the second-most of any top seed en route to the semi-final at the event in the Open Era, with only Rafael Nadal (85 in 2018) conceding more. Building.#USOpen | @usopen @atptour pic.twitter.com/rwVOXUWWNb

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) September 10, 2026

Zverev breaks new ground

This marked Zverev's 23rd match win at the majors this season, which is the most by a German man in a single campaign, surpassing the 22 set by Boris Becker in 1989.

He has finally achieved the feat of reaching all four major semi-finals in the same season.

Among players to begin their career in the Open Era, Zverev (29 years and 132 days) is now the oldest to do so.

However, Zverev has conceded 80 games already at this edition of the US Open – the second-most of any top seed en route to the semi-final at the event in the Open Era, with only Rafael Nadal (85 in 2018) conceding more.

"I think you saw in the first two rounds, I really didn't play well," Zverev added.

"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."