US Open 2021: Alexander Zverev vs Lloyd Harris preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: (4) Alexander Zverev vs Lloyd Harris

Date: 8 September 2021

Tournament: 2021 US Open

Round: Quarterfinals

Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York

Category: Grand Slam

Surface: Outdoor hardcourt

Prize money: $40,560,000

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel & ESPN/ESPN 2 | UK - Amazon Prime Video | India - Star Sports / Disney+ Hotstar VIP

Alexander Zverev vs Lloyd Harris preview

Fourth seed Alexander Zverev will square off against giant-killer Lloyd Harris in the quarterfinals of the 2021 US Open on Wednesday.

Zverev crushed the hopes of Italy'a Jannik Sinner in his fourth-round match on Monday, winning 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7). Sinner struggled to get anything out of Zverev's service games, and broke the German for the first time only when trailing 2-4 in the third set.

That late break shifted the momentum the way of the 20-year-old, and he then built a 4-1 lead in the ensuing tiebreak. Zverev narrowed reduced the deficit with some fine serves, but soon saw himself facing a couple of set points.

However, Sinner inexplicably struck the ball wide on one of his set points, even though he had acres of space to hit a winner. Zverev didn't look back from there, and closed out the win without further drama.

The Olympic champion struck 37 winners - including 17 aces - in the match, but also coughed up 38 unforced errors. That would be an area of concern for him as he enters the business end of the tournament.

🇩🇪 @AlexZverev is stoked for the #USOpen quarterfinals 💪 pic.twitter.com/XkPyxZQ3F7

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 6, 2021

Lloyd Harris, meanwhile, is into the last eight of a Major for the first time in his career. But that is not too surprising given the spectacular season he has been having.

Harris, who has beaten the likes of Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem and Stan Wawrinka this year, accounted for big-serving American Reilly Opelka in his fourth-round match on Monday. Harris produced an electric display of tennis, especially on the return, to triumph 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-1, 6-3.

The 24-year-old was very aggressive from the get-go and ended up with a massive 62 winners, which included 36 aces.

His name is Lloyd.🇿🇦 Lloyd Harris continues his dream run into the #USOpen quarterfinals! pic.twitter.com/GoQbwemvmZ

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 6, 2021

Harris landed 76% of his first serves and won a whopping 92% of those points. The South African also leaked just 16 unforced errors, nine of which came in the first set itself.

Simply put, Harris was superior to Opelka in every aspect of the game, and the American didn't have much of a say in the proceedings after the first set.

Alexander Zverev vs Lloyd Harris head-to-head

Alexander Zverev leads Lloyd Harris by a margin of 2-0 in the head-to-head. Zverev recently beat Harris at the Cincinnati Masters, in straight sets.

Alexander Zverev vs Lloyd Harris prediction

Lloyd Harris after beating Reilly Opelka

Alexander Zverev and Lloyd Harris have been amongst the best servers at the ongoing US Open. They can both be expected to breeze through their service games on Wednesday, and rack up numerous aces in the process.

But Zverev has a lot of other weapons up his sleeve too, foremost among which is his backhand. Harris will need to find a way to pin the German in his forehand corner or else he runs the risk of ceding control of the proceedings.

The South African will also need to finish off points early with his big forehand, as Zverev tends to grow in strength as the rally is extended.

It is unlikely that Harris will be able to protect his second serve throughout the match, given the quality of Zverev's return. That could be the decisive factor that tilts the scales in the German's favor.

Prediction: Alexander Zverev to win in four sets.