By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Borna Coric charged past fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (4), into the US Open third round for the first time.
Photo credit: @USOpen
The prospect of a fifth set was staring Borna Coric in the face as he confronted triple set point tonight.
Coric was in no mood to go the distance.
Kyrgios: Commitment "Probably Not" Coming
Fighting off three set points to force a tiebreak, Coric upset fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (4), to charge into the US Open third round for the first time.
When Zverev missed the mark on match point, an ecstatic Coric dropped his Wilson racquet to the court, flung his black baseball cap aside and pumped his fists in exuberance.
“He had the most unbelievable year; it means a lot to win this match,” Coric said. “I was struggling a little bit in last six weeks with neck injury so it does mean a lot to me.”
This was not the way the US Open was supposed to end for Zverev, who swept successive hard-court titles in Washington, DC and Montreal during this US Open Series.
The 20-year-old German defeated Roger Federer in the Montreal final, but could not capitalize on opportunities on Grandstand tonight. Zverev converted just 1 of 11 break-point chances and scattered 58 unforced errors—14 more than his opponent.
Zverev, whose brother Mischa Zverev held off Benoit Paire in five sets tonight, insisted fatigue from a long hard-court summer season was not a factor.
Instead, he offered a simple explanation for his demise: He played poorly.
“Physically, I’m fine,” Zverev said. “I just played very, very bad in the second and third sets. I should have won the third. I definitely should have won the fourth.
“It’s upsetting because the draw is pretty open. In the bottom part I felt I should have been the favorite there. I just played a very, very bad match. It’s unfortunate, but that’s how it is.”
It was Coric’s second win over Zverev in as many meetings. Two years ago, he edged the explosive German, 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (5), in the Cincinnati second round.
Now, the 61st-ranked Croatian will play Kevin Anderson for a spot in his first Grand Slam round of 16.
The 28th-seeded Anderson pounded Ernests Gulbis, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.
Playing with more urgency and energy on pivotal points, Coric pulled the surprise serve-and-volley soaring to snap off a smash to earn match point. When Zverev misfired on one final error, Coric was through to the third round.
Zverev, who was the highest-seeded man in the bottom half of the draw after second-seeded Andy Murray withdrew on Saturday, was left ruing a lost major opportunity.
The two-time Masters champion, who was coming off a career-best fourth-round result at Wimbledon, joined fellow young star Nick Kyrgios in falling from the field today.