Alexander Zverev’s pursuit of capturing a maiden Grand Slam title has come to an end at the US Open after bowing out in the third round to Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The German took the first set against the Canadian, but after conceding the second narrowly in a tiebreak, the momentum swung the way of Auger-Aliassime, who won 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Zverev’s chances at the US Open looked promising after being handed a favourable draw, in which he was the third seed.
It was not to be for the 28-year-old, however, who has now matched Rafael Nadal‘s undesirable 20-year-long record at Grand Slams.
Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty ImagesAlexander Zverev matches Rafael Nadal after exiting the US Open
With the loss to Auger-Aliassime, Zverev has now lost in the opening week of a major for the second consecutive time, following his first-round exit at Wimbledon.
The last player to do so as a top-three-ranked star was Nadal, who crashed out in the first week of both Wimbledon and the US Open in 2005.
2005 – Alexander Zverev (Wimbledon, US Open 2025) is the first ATP top-three ranked player to lose in the opening week at consecutive GS events since Rafael Nadal (Wimbledon, US Open) in 2005. Crash.#USOpen | @usopen @atptour @ATPMediaInfo
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) August 31, 2025
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At the All England Club that year, the Spaniard fell to Gilles Muller in the second round, before suffering defeat to James Blake in round three at Flushing Meadows.
Zverev, on the other hand, lost to Arthur Rinderknech in his opening match at Wimbledon, and despite making the semifinals at the Cincinnati Open and the Canadian Open, has now recorded a third-round finish at the US Open.
Alexander Zverev records his worst result at the US Open in seven years
Zverev has enjoyed several deep runs at the US Open in recent years, having made the final in New York in 2020, where he lost to Dominic Thiem.
He reached the semifinals in 2021, and after missing the 2022 tournament, went as far as the quarterfinals in 2023 and 2024.
YearResult2025Third Round2024Quarterfinals2023Quarterfinals2022Absent2021Semifinals2020Final2019Fourth Round2018Third RoundAlexander Zverev’s results at the US Open since 2018
His third-round loss this season marks his worst finish at the event since 2018, when, as the fourth seed, he was knocked out by Philipp Kohlschreiber in the round of 32.
It was a surprising result for Zverev, who will now lose 300 ATP ranking points, but remains third in the world for now.