German fourth seed Zverev stretched his win streak to 15 matches by beating Italian 13th seed Jannik Sinner 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (9/7) and Swiss 11th seed Bencic eliminated Polish seventh seed Iga Swiatek, last year’s French Open champion, 7-6 (12), 6-3.
Zverev, last year’s US Open runner-up, reached his seventh career Slam quarter-final and fourth in the past five Slams.
“Was a very high-level match from the start to the end, a lot of hard hitting,” Zverev said. “I’m happy to be through to the quarter-finals and we’ll see where it goes.”
Sinner missed his chances with two set points on Zverev’s serve in the 12th game of the third set and three more foiled in the tie-breaker before Zverev won when Sinner netted a forehand after two hours and 25 minutes.
“That’s the last few months for me,” Zverev said. “Players with confidence know what to do in these situations. I’m happy to get through in straight sets.”
Zverev said his Olympic gold medal is with him as inspiration and to snuggle.
“I cuddle with it at night,” he said. “It’s with me here, a little reminder of what happened last month to give me some energy here.”
Zverev will next face the winner of a later match between American 22nd seed Reilly Opelka and 46th-ranked Lloyd Harris of South Africa.
Swiatek beat Bencic in their only prior meeting in February’s Adelaide final, but the Swiss hasn’t dropped a set this week and has been broken only three times.
“I’ve improved my game a lot,” Bencic said. “I’m glad to turn it around and get through.”
A key was taking the last three points in a 23-minute tie-breaker. “In the tie-breaker, it’s always a little bit about luck,” she said. “I started the second set a little more relaxed.”
Fernandez ousts Kerber
Late on Sunday, Canadian teen Leylah Fernandez followed her shock upset of 2020 US Open winner Naomi Osaka by defeating German 16th seed and three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2.
“I just tried to use all my trainings from back home,” Fernandez said. “They told me take it point by point. I was glad I was able to execute it.”
Seven of the top nine women’s seeds reached the last 16 with Osaka and top-ranked Wimbledon champion Ashleigh Barty exiting early.
Fernandez, who turned 19 yesterday, advanced to a first Slam quarter-final against Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Elina Svitolina, the fifth seed from Ukraine.
“That’s going to be a very tough match,” Fernandez said. “She returns a lot of balls. She’s aggressive. I’m just going to go on court and try to keep doing what I’ve been doing.”
Second seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, who made a Slam-best run to July’s Wimbledon semi-finals, eliminated Belgian 15th seed Elise Mertens 6-4, 6-1.
“I work so hard to play this game at this level,” Sabalenka said. “I worked my ass really hard to get here. I work so hard to get these wins. I will do everything I can each match.”
Spanish 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz, who upset Greek third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, reached his first Slam quarter-final by downing 141st-ranked German qualifier Peter Gojowczyk 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 6-0.
Belinda Bencic of Switzerland beat Iga Swiatek (not pictured) of Poland yesterday. (USA TODAY Sports)
Leylah Fernandez of Canada celebrates her win over Angelique Kerber (not pictured) of Germany at the US Open on Sunday. (USA TODAY Sports)