Alexander Zverev winkte ins Publikum, schoss unterschriebene Bälle auf die Tribüne und schlenderte dann zufrieden in die kühlen Katakomben: Auf der Jagd nach seinem ersehnten ersten Grand-Slam-Titel hat der Hamburger in New York auch seine zweite Aufgabe souverän gelöst – für den Angriff auf die Krone bei den US Open muss er sich aber noch deutlich steigern.
Gegen den Franzosen Alexandre Müller spielte Zverev im Louis Armstrong Stadium solide, von seinem Topniveau zeigte er sich über weite Strecken aber noch weit entfernt. „Er hat großartiges Tennis gespielt, am Ende des zweiten Satzes war er der bessere Spieler. Ich haben einen Weg gefunden und bin froh, es in drei Sätzen geschafft zu haben und etwas Pause zu bekommen. Es war sehr heiß heute“, sagte Zverev nach dem 6:4, 7:6 (7:5), 6:1-Erfolg, mit dem er bei seinem neunten Auftritt in der US-Metropole zum sechsten Mal die dritte Runde erreichte. Dort wartet der Argentinier Tomas Martin Etcheverry auf den Olympiasieger von Tokio.
Jule Niemeier was also able to celebrate on Wednesday. The Dortmund player has been doing well in the Big Apple so far. In her second round match, she kept a cool head in the immense midday heat and, after a 6:4, 6:0 win against the Japanese Moyuka Uchijima, advanced to the third round of the last Grand Slam of the year for the second time in her career.
Niemeier recognizes a maturation process. She spoke of a total package of “mindset, attitude and playing ability” that enabled her to succeed. “That’s why I’m very happy that I can show it on the court,” she told Sky. “It’s something special to be in the third round,” Niemeier enthused. “It was extremely important to be there right at the beginning of the second set and to continue to play offensively.” Now she will face Chinese Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen. Niemeier won against Australian Open finalist Zheng in the third round in Flushing Meadows in 2022.
As the fourth-ranked player in the world, Zverev will only face top players later in the tournament. In his first encounter with the 77th-ranked player in the world on Wednesday, he needed some time to find his rhythm. Zverev is not a fan of matches in the morning or at midday, but many simple mistakes by the Frenchman helped him win the first set in the second-largest arena at the Flushing Meadows complex.
In front of former soccer world champion Sami Khedira in his own box, Zverev was unable to reach his full performance level in the second set, but held his nerve in the tiebreak. The Hamburg native was then unstoppable and used his second match point to win.
In his 35th attempt, Zverev is aiming for his long-awaited first Grand Slam title. In New York in 2020, he was only two points away from victory before suffering one of the most bitter defeats of his career against Dominic Thiem. In the dress rehearsal in Cincinnati, Zverev had recently shown his improving form by reaching the semifinals after weeks of health and sporting setbacks. The victory against Müller was already the 54th this year – no player on the tour has more to show for it.
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