Alexander Zverev’s dream of reaching the second week of a grand slam tournament for the first time has been destroyed after going out in the second round of the US Open to Borna Coric.
The German entered the draw with a lot of hype surrounding him. This season he has already won five ATP titles on three different surfaces, including two Masters 1000 trophies. Seeded fourth in the draw, he was the highest seeded German man in a US Open draw since Tommy Haas in 2002. His downfall was to a spirited Coric, who displayed glimmers of his best tennis to prevail 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(1), 7-6(4).
“I just played very, very bad in the second and third set. I should have won the third. I definitely should have won the fourth.” Zverev said in his press conference.
“It’s upsetting because the draw is pretty open in the bottom part. I felt like I should have been the favoured there. I just played a very, very bad match, so it’s unfortunate.”
During the last-night encounter, Zverev saw opportunities come and go. Out his 11 break point opportunities in the match, he only managed to convert one of them during the opening set. It is the second time he has lost to the Croat following their meeting two years ago at the 2015 Cincinnati Open.
Failing to reach the third round of the US Open for the third consecutive year, the Next Generation star is left pondering his next move. One journalist suggested that his downfall could have been due to pressure. Although Zverev himself firmly denied this.
“I’ve been dealing with expectations from a very young age, so for my whole career. For me, this is just another step. I was the highest-ranked player in the bottom half of the draw after Andy retired. Now I’m out of the draw, so for me, nothing changes. I still have to go back to work and then try to win this title, maybe in the future years.”
At the age of 20, Zverev has surged up the rankings this year from 24th to sixth. Many stars of the sport have tipped him to be a future world No.1, piling on the expectations. It is a bold statement to make, but the German continues to take it in his stride.
“I don’t think about it. I just play every match the same way, try to play every match the same way.” He explained when talking about coping with expectations. “Sometimes you lose, sometimes you win. Luckily for me most of the time this year I was winning, so that’s good.”
Zverev is expected to return to the tour at the end of September at the Shenzhen Open in China.
