New York (AFP)
German Alexander Zverev, ranked fourth in the world, reached the second round of the US Open, the last of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, for the eighth consecutive time, after defeating his compatriot Maximilian Marterer 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2 at Flushing Meadows in New York.
The 2020 runner-up, who reached the Roland Garros final this season where he lost to Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and the Australian Open semi-finals before that, needed two hours and 53 minutes to overcome his compatriot, ranked 100th in the world, who at the age of 29 was hoping to reach the second round for the first time in his fifth participation.
In the second round of the tournament, whose title is held by Serbian Novak Djokovic, Zverev will meet Australian Adam Walter or Frenchman Alexander Muller.
In his last major participation before retirement, the 2020 champion, Austrian Dominic Thiem, did not go far, as his journey ended in the first round with his loss to the American Ben Shelton, ranked thirteenth in the world, 4-6, 2-6, 2-6.
The Austrian, who celebrates his 21st birthday on September 3, had previously announced that the 2024 season would be his last on the yellow ball courts.
Since winning the title in 2020 by defeating Zverev in the final, Thiem has not been able to go beyond the second round in three appearances at the US Open, and that was last year when he was eliminated by Shelton himself.
The world number 210, who had previously reached third place, participated in the US tournament with a wild card.
Thiem was forced to step down in the second half of the 2021 season after suffering a torn ligament in his right wrist, and was unable to regain his previous form, which led to his decline in the rankings in 2022 to 352nd place.
In the women’s section, China’s Qinwen Jing, ranked seventh and coming off a historic win in the women’s singles gold at the Paris Olympics, also reached the second round for the third consecutive time in her third participation, after this season’s Australian Open runner-up defeated American Amanda Anisimova 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
The 21-year-old will next face Russian Erika Andreeva, who beat Chinese Yu Yuan 6-3, 7-6.
Asked about the achievement of winning the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, the Chinese said, “I am happy with what I have achieved in the past, but all I want now is to focus on what I am doing here.”
Zheng faces a potential quarter-final clash with Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, in a repeat of the Australian Open final earlier this year.
The Greek Maria Sakkari, ranked ninth, was the most prominent victim of the first matches in the first round, after she withdrew at the beginning of the second set of her match with the Chinese Yafan Wang, who won the first set in her favor 6-2.
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