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.