Might go to a bar: Zverev jokes on early win vs Darderi

Alexander Zverev returns to Luciano Darderi during their pre-quarterfinal on Monday. Pic/AFP

Top seed Alexander Zverev romped into the quarter-finals of the US Open on Monday with a straight sets defeat of Italy's Luciano Darderi. Zverev, who had been taken to five sets in his opening two matches of the tournament, raced past 21st seed Darderi 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7/3) in 2hr 30mins on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.

The brisk victory came as a welcome change for Zverev, whose marathon first and second round matches had finished in the early hours of the morning. "I don't know what to do with myself because it's before midnight," Zverev quipped afterwards.

"I might go back to the practice court, I might go to a bar - that was a joke, unfortunately. Compared to the first two matches, the level has been going up," he added. Zverev wrapped up victory with his 13th ace of the match. "I thought my level was very consistent. It was just he started playing incredibly well in the third set. I barely saw anyone hit the ball as hard consistently as he did in the third set," added the German, who will now face Dutch veteran Botic van de Zandschulp in the quarter-finals.

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