Van de Zandschulp’s reward for reaching the second US Open quarterfinal in his career was a meeting with the top seeded German Alexander Zverev. Zverev, 29, was able to finish before midnight in New York when he beat Italian 21st seed Luciano Darderi 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) to reach the last eight. Zverev’s previous three matches ended at 1:55, 2:15 and 1:09. “I don’t know what to do with myself because it’s almost midnight – maybe I’ll go back to the training grounds or go to the bar,” Zverev joked. On whether he wants to play Van de Zandschulp in Wednesday’s evening session, the French Open champion added: “I will definitely ask for a night match. “I rented this court from 23:00 to 2:00 for two weeks, so I hope they will continue to invite me to the field. [night] time.” Earlier on Monday, Belgian Alexandre Blox said he was “really close” to retirement after being injured against Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo before reaching his first major quarter-final. Bloxx, seeded 28th, battled through rib pain to win 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, becoming the first Belgian to reach the last eight in New York. “It was very difficult from the very beginning of the match. It was very difficult for me, especially during the serve. It got worse throughout the match,” said 21-year-old Blox. “To be honest, I was very close to retiring. I just hung in there, but if I had lost the third set, I think the chances of me going away would have been very high.” “I’m glad I continued playing.” Assuming he is fit enough, Bloxx will play Russia’s world number 50 Karen Khachanov in the quarter-finals on Wednesday. Khachanov, 30, fought back to claim a 7-5, 4-6, 6-7 (6-8) 6-1, 6-4 victory against 14th-seeded Apprentice Thien, ending the American’s attempt to send the four hosts into the quarter-finals for the first time since 1995. Post navigation Breaking: Cricket Australia agrees to attract private investment in Big Bash Rob Richardson wins the Phantom Class National Championship at Tenby