Superb Auger-Aliassime ends Zverev's bid for elusive major

Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime says the quality he produced to stun German third seed Alexander Zverev in the US Open fourth round did not simply "fall out of the sky".

Auger-Aliassime's bold attacking approach paid off as he fought back to win 4-6 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 6-4 in New York.

The 25-year-old had not previously beaten a top-five ranked opponent in seven attempts at a major tournament.

But his game - booming serve, vicious groundstrokes and supreme athleticism - knitted together to end Zverev's latest bid for an elusive Grand Slam title.

"In practice I felt like I was doing things really well. Mentally, [I've had] more clarity in my game and how I want to play," Auger-Aliassime said.

"A performance like this doesn't fall out of the sky.

"But you never know also when you're going to play that level on any given day."

Many people in the game judge 28-year-old Zverev as the best player of recent generations without a major title to his name.

Identified as a future star in his teenage years, when he followed his older brother Mischa around the ATP Tour, he has gone close by reaching three major finals.

Despite his pedigree, he has not got over the line - most notably when he blew a two-set lead in the 2020 US Open final - and still appears to lack belief against the very best at the business end of Grand Slam tournaments.

In a bid to solve the issue, Zverev recently enlisted the help of Toni Nadal - who coached his nephew Rafael to 16 of his 22 Grand Slam titles.

A trip to Nadal's academy in Majorca followed Zverev's first-round exit at Wimbledon, where he opened up about receiving psychological help to get "out of the hole" he was in.

Afterwards, Nadal told BBC Sport he tried to instil the belief into Zverev that he could beat the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic if he faced them in New York.

Instead it was Auger-Aliassime - who ironically was coached by Nadal between 2021 and 2024 - who prolonged Zverev's wait for the prize he desires.

Former world number six Auger-Aliassime faces Russian 15th seed Andrey Rublev in the fourth round on Monday.