LAST UPDATE | 31 Aug 2023
ZHANG ZHIZHEN SENT fifth seed Casper Ruud crashing out of the US Open overnight, creating tennis history by becoming the first man from China to beat a top-five player.
The 26-year-old from Shanghai — ranked 67th in the world — produced the match of his life to defeat last year’s US Open finalist 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 0-6, 6-2 in 3hr 19min.
Zhang’s victory was the first time any male Chinese player has beaten a player ranked in the world’s top five.
Zhang will face Australia’s Rinky Hijikata in the third round on Friday, bidding to reach the last 16 of a Grand Slam for the first time.
Wednesday’s turnaround was in stark contrast to Zhang’s campaign in last year’s tournament where he was bundled out in the first round after his career was effectively shut down by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“First of all, with the Covid situation, it’s tough to get outside. Then everything is tough,” Zhang said.
“I don’t think (at) that moment we believed we can make this result. That moment I would say we are more thinking like try to break top hundred, that’s our goal, the goal you have step by step.”
Zhang said he would take that approach to the rest of the US Open starting with Friday’s third round tie.
“One round by one round, one step by one step, and we’ll see,” he said. “I can’t think too far. Every round is tough.”
Earlier, tempers had flared after Ruud had levelled the match at two sets a-piece with a 6-0 fourth set.
Zhang left the court for several minutes to take a toilet break and change clothes in a move that clearly disrupted Ruud’s momentum.
The Norwegian was broken immediately in the first game of the final set, and a frustrated Ruud complained angrily at the chair umpire, accusing him of failing to enforce time limits.
“Why don’t you do anything?” Ruud yelled at the umpire. “You follow the rules clearly some times then other times you don’t give a shit. Why don’t you do anything?”
With Ruud unravelling, Zhang rammed home his advantage. He broke again in the fifth game to take a 4-1 lead and then held for a 5-1 lead.
Ruud held serve to close the gap to 5-2, but Zhang would not be denied, producing a superb backhand volley on match point to seal victory.
Ruud later admitted that Zhang’s lengthy break had derailed him before the deciding set.
“It’s six, seven minutes where I kind of walk around doing nothing,” Ruud said. “Lost my maybe groove there, and that’s frustrating, because you’re on a roll, you won the fourth set, you want to kind of keep going.
“That’s why I was a little frustrated, kind of asked the umpire about what the rules are here.”
Elsewhere, chocolate-loving Dominic Stricker caused a major upset by knocking out seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The 21-year-old qualifier from Switzerland, ranked 128 in the world, stunned two-time grand slam finalist Tsitsipas with 7-5 6-7 (2) 6-7 (5) 7-6 (6) 6-3 victory to reach the third round.
Stricker is a former French Open junior champion who recently admitted his coach had told him to cut down on chocolate and cookies, but it was Tsitsipas who was left feeling sour after a four-hour slog on the Grandstand Court.
Tsitsipas served for the match at 5-3 in the fourth set, and the Greek said: “Usually I’m much tougher mentally, and I have shown it by coming back.
“Even though sometimes I get broken serving for the match, let’s say, I still find ways in the tie-break or perhaps in the fifth set. Today was not the case.”
Tsitsipas joins a list of high-profile early casualties alongside fourth seed Holger Rune and 11th seed Karen Khachanov, who both lost in the first round.
Second seed Novak Djokovic is safely through to round three after demolishing Spain’s Bernabe Zapata Miralles.
The Serbian, chasing a 24th grand slam title, dropped just six games in a 6-4 6-1 6-1 victory.
In the women’s singles, Coco Gauff knocked 16-year-old Russian rookie Mirra Andreeva 6-3 6-2.
Defending champion and world number one Iga Swiatek swept past Australia’s Daria Saville 6-3 6-4.
The Pole is bidding to become the first woman to successfully defend her US Open crown since Serena Williams won a hat-trick of titles from 2012-2014.
– – © AFP 2023, Additional reporting by Press Association
