Alexander Zverev survived a bit of a scare and defeated Adrian Mannarino at the US Open in four sets, while Novak Djokovic completely dismantled in-form Jan-Lennard Struff. In the last game played on Louis Armstrong Stadium, Stefanos Tsitsipas completely collapsed and blew a match from a very comfortable winning position against Borna Coric.
Good impressions
Novak Djokovic is still looking like it’s his US Open to lose. While in theory, it would seem that Jan-Lennard Struff might have the right skill set required to hurt Djokovic, it turns out this is actually a nightmare of a matchup for the big-serving German. Struff’s extreme pace off the ground seemed to have little to no impact on the Serbian, who made redirecting these bombs look way too easy. The German had his moments with a few beautifully executed actions at the net but ultimately, Djokovic’s counter-punching turned out to be way over his ceiling. The world no.1 won his 26th match in a row 6-3 6-3 6-1.
Denis Shapovalov defeated Taylor Fritz 3-6 6-3 4-6 7-6 6-2 in an exciting clash of Next-Gen prospects. It was clear from the very beginning that this match was going to be very serve-based, with neither player possessing a great return. Both Shapovalov and Fritz also did very well in keeping the rallies short on their delivery, focusing on finishing the points in two or three strokes. Fritz served for the match in the fourth set but after Shapovalov broke to 30, it was an extraordinary display of the Canadian’s incredible potential until the very end of the match.
Disappointments
Filip Krajinovic didn’t live up to the expectations that he himself raised with a great run at the Western & Southern Open. The Serbian’s serve was under attack from David Goffin and there was not much Krajinovic could do as his opponent broke seven times in the entire match. On top of that, each time the 26th seed appeared to have a slight chance at a comeback, he would make some sort of a simple mistake. Goffin took the win 6-1 7-6 6-4 in just over two hours.
Despite getting a chance for a mental reset with the rain postponing the match until the next day, Dan Evans wasn’t able to overcome Corentin Moutet. It was hardly a regular baseline battle as both players like to use different spins and vary the rhythm of the rallies. The Brit was sometimes struggling to generate pace by himself and never really felt quite like himself in this match. Perhaps it was also due to Moutet’s overconfident behavior which seemed to really get under his skin. The Frenchman triumphed 4-6 6-3 7-6 7-6.
Match of the day
The biggest upset of the men’s event so far came as the fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas led Borna Coric two sets to one and 5-1 in the fourth set. But Coric didn’t plan to give up just yet, breaking back the Greek and saving two match points on his own delivery. Tsitsipas then served again, quickly going 40-0 up. In a truly inexplicable turn of events, the Greek went on to waste four further match points (six in total) as Coric took seven games on the spin. On three of these match points, the world no.6 committed an unforced error.
Tsitsipas somehow regrouped for the fifth set and soon found himself a break up again. But Coric broke back right away and then saved three break points at 4-4 to prevent his opponent from serving for the match again. Tsitsipas played tentatively and allowed Coric to attack on the breakpoints, handing the Croat the initiative. The fourth seed had one more opportunity at 5-5, which Coric erased with a great serve down the T. A fifth set tie-break felt like a very natural way to decide this match.
And once again Tsitsipas failed to cope with the pressure, making two out of his three double faults of the entire match in the deciding tie-break. Combined with a backhand shank and a mishit forehand on match point, these were just too many errors for him to keep up with Coric in these last moments of the match. The Croat won 6-7 6-4 4-6 7-5 7-6 in over four and a half hours.
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