John McEnroe is somehow generating almost as much noise at the 2026 US Open from the commentary booth as he once did with a racket in his hand. Barely a round seems to pass without another remark becoming a talking point, and this time, his strange observation about Botic van de Zandschulp’s face has put him under the microscope again.

During Alexander Zverev’s quarterfinal against the Dutchman, McEnroe remarked that Van de Zandschulp “looks a little pained, even though he just hit a winner.” Except the problem, according to Canadian tennis journalist Stephanie Myles, was much simpler: that is apparently just how Van de Zandschulp looks.

“Um, that’s kind of just his face,” Myles wrote on X. “But of course you’ve never watched him play before, so there’s no way you would know.”

The irony is hard to miss. McEnroe once called Van de Zandschulp “really good” after his 2021 US Open breakthrough and even tipped him for regular Grand Slam quarterfinal runs, yet five years later he was being mocked for describing the Dutchman as looking “pained” after a winner, despite that simply being his usual expression.

And this was not his first awkward moment of the tournament.

Earlier at the US Open, McEnroe called Lorenzo Sonego “not very well known” during his match against Zverev, despite the Italian having reached No. 21 in the world and beaten Novak Djokovic.

Then, after Mariano Navone stunned Djokovic, McEnroe referred to Navone’s next match being on “Court 21,” a remark some fans took as another unnecessary swipe at a lower-profile player.

McEnroe has faced similar criticism before, including over comments involving Radu Albot, Nicolas Jarry and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The reaction, however, was hardly unanimous. While some fans felt McEnroe’s latest remark was another example of him sounding dismissive toward lesser-known players, others argued that the backlash was being overblown and that his bluntness has always been part of his appeal. Even critics who found his delivery abrasive still acknowledged that he often brings useful insight to matches.

At this point, the pattern is becoming difficult to ignore. McEnroe’s blunt commentary still gets people talking, but increasingly, the conversation is about him rather than the tennis.

Meanwhile, Zverev was doing something far more important on court.

Alexander Zverev produced a magical performance at the US Open QF

The German had been made to work throughout the tournament, going the distance in each of his opening two matches. Against Van de Zandschulp, though, Zverev finally looked in control.

His start was far from clean, with five double faults exposing an erratic serving display, but Van de Zandschulp failed to punish him. A string of forehand errors handed Zverev the opening break, and the German quickly took the first set.

The Dutchman pushed back in the second, applying more pressure and threatening to drag Zverev into another long battle. But with the set still in the balance, Zverev reeled off three straight games to shut the door.

From there, the resistance disappeared.

An overhead winner gave Zverev an early break in the third, and he never looked back, sealing a 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 victory to reach his third US Open semifinal and 13th Grand Slam semifinal overall.

More importantly, Zverev has now reached the semifinals of all four majors in the same season for the first time in his career.

“I think the more often that you get to that stage, the more normal it becomes, which is something that you should never take for granted,” Zverev said. “I think it’s a very special feeling when it becomes normality.”

And he has hardly taken the easy route. Zverev has already spent 16 hours and 40 minutes on court in New York, more than any other man still standing.

His 23 Grand Slam victories in 2026 have also taken him past Boris Becker’s German record of 22 from 1989.

“I think you saw in the first two rounds, I really didn’t play well,” Zverev admitted. “In other tournaments I would be out in the first round, but here I can fight back and play best of five sets, play four-and-a-half hours.”

With defending champion Carlos Alcaraz already out, Zverev now has an even clearer path in front of him. Next comes Karen Khachanov, who advanced after Alexander Blockx retired while trailing 6-2, 7-5, 3-2.

McEnroe may have created the noise around this quarterfinal, but Zverev produced the result that mattered.