Alexander Zverev is keeping his feet firmly on the ground at the US Open even though he was aware during his third-round match that Novak Djokovic had followed Carlos Alcaraz out of the US Open.

Zverev and 24-time grand slam winner Djokovic could have met in the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows but the draw has now opened up a little for the German who is still chasing a first grand slam title.

Zverev, 27, outlasted Tomás Martin Etcheverry 5-7, 7-5, 6-1, 6-3 in a match that finished at 2.35 am local time Saturday, the second latest end in New York, with Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner playing until 2.50 am in 2022.

Fourth seed Zverev said afterwards that he had seen the images of title holder Djokovic’s exit against Australian Alexei Popyrin on the video screen.

“You are aware of it, it was maybe even a little disturbing because I know that Novak is not in my half any more. He is definitely a big name,” Zverev said.

“I think Novak’s match was over at 5-5 in the first set, and I lost two games straight away. I am happy that I was able to regroup.”

Zverev added: “I have to concentrate on myself. Everyone can play outstanding tennis at a grand slam. First of all I have to play my matches.”

Victory over Etcheverry was his 100th at the majors, making Zverev the first player born after 1990 to reach this milestone.

But he is still missing a title at the majors, having lost the 2020 US Open final from two sets up against Dominic Thiem, and this year’s French Open decider against Alcaraz after leading by 2-1 sets.

Alcaraz went out in New York earlier in the week, with top seed Sinner now the only player ranked above Zverev.

Next up for Zverev in the fourth round is unseeded American Brandon Nakashima, a winner over Lorenzo Musetti who had beaten the Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Zverev at the recent Paris Olympics.