Van de Zandschulp’s reward for reaching the second US Open quarter-final of his career is a meeting with German top seed Alexander Zverev.
Zverev, 29, had a rare 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 finished at 1:55am, 2:15am and 1:09am.
“I don’t know what to do with myself because it’s before midnight – I might go back to the practice courts or go to a bar,” Zverev joked.
On whether he wants to play Van de Zandschulp in Wednesday’s night session, the French Open champion added: “I will request the night match for sure.
“I’ve rented this court out from 11pm until 2am for two weeks so I hope they will continue putting me on at [night] time.”
Earlier on Monday, Belgium’s Alexander Blockx said he was “really close” to retiring injured against Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo before playing on to reach his first major quarter-final.
Blockx, seeded 28th, fought through rib pain to win 6-3 4-6 7-5 7-5, becoming the first Belgian man to make the last eight in New York.
“It was really tough from the beginning of the match. I was struggling a lot, especially while serving. It kept getting worse throughout the match,” said 21-year-old Blockx.
“I was really close to retiring, to be honest. I was just hanging in there, but if I would have lost the third set, I think the chances were really high of me retiring.
“I’m glad that I kept on playing.”
Presuming he is fit enough, Blockx will play Russian world number 50 Karen Khachanov in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Khachanov, 30, fought back to win 7-5 4-6 6-7 (6-8) 6-1 6-4 against 14th seed Learner Tien, ending the American’s attempt to put four home men in the quarter-finals for the first time since 1995.
