German veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber got the better of sensational young compatriot Alexander Zverev Saturday, sending the fourth-seed crashing out of the US Open 6-7 (1/7), 6-4, 6-1, 6-3.
Zverev, 21, leads the ATP tour with 45 match wins this season, lifting titles in Munich, Madrid and Washington and reaching finals in Miami and Rome.
But it was 34-year-old Kohlschreiber moving into the round of 16, where he’ll face either 13th-seeded Diego Schwartzman of Argentina or Japanese 21st seed Kei Nishikori, the runner-up in 2014.
“I think it was a really entertaining match,” said Kohlschreiber, who is in the last 16 at Flushing Meadows for the fifth time.
“You have Sascha with the big serve, big strokes. My variety of the game worked out perfectly.”
Zverev led 3-0 in the fourth set but lost the last six games.
“I returned very well,” Kohlschreiber said. “He usually likes to have free points on his serve, that was a key factor today that I played a lot of force back on his service games.”
“Slice, angles, they all paid off,” Kohlschreiber said. “Lucky me today.”
