Coric stuns Zverev in US Open 2nd round
Alexander Zverev's Grand Slam woes continue.
The fourth-seeded German phenom, who came into the US Open as a top-two favorite despite having never reached a major quarterfinal, was shocked in the second round by 20-year-old Borna Coric on Wednesday night, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (4).
Zverev wasn't his typically confident, assertive self, but Coric kept the pressure on him with relentless retrieving and bold counterpunches. He forced Zverev to press and overhit, ultimately coaxing him into 58 unforced errors. He dominated the forecourt, winning 28 of 35 points at net while neutralizing Zverev - who won just 18 of 32 net points - with excellent, dipping passing shots.
For all that, Zverev had a golden opportunity to take the match to a fifth set. Having already had multiple 0-30 games on Coric's serve in the fourth, he went up 0-40 to earn three set points with Coric serving at 5-6. The young Croat wiped the first one out with a perfectly executed serve-and-volley, and the second one by winning a dizzying rally with a ridiculous inside-out forehand that nicked the outside of the line. Then he hit three straight service winners to force a breaker. All told, he saved 10 of 11 break points.
Once upon a time, we might've gazed into the future, projected a matchup between these two at a Slam, and found little reason to believe that either would be an overwhelming favorite. Zverev and Coric came up playing juniors together, and together they seemed to form the backbone of the future of men's tennis. Coric separated himself early by scoring four combined wins against Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray, and by beating Zverev in their lone previous ATP meeting back in 2015.
But Zverev is ranked No. 6 in the world now, while Coric is stuck at 61st. Zverev is tied for the tour lead with five titles and two Masters titles under his belt this season, while Coric has lost more matches than he's won. Zverev was considered a legitimate contender - if not the favorite - in New York, while Coric was an afterthought.
None of it mattered on Wednesday night. Zverev, who has been so dominant in the best-of-three format this year, continued to raise questions about his ability to maintain that level in the best-of-five, where he's now just 13-14 in his career. He was the highest seed in an absolute mess of a bottom half of the draw, but couldn't take advantage.
"It's upsetting, because (the) draw is pretty open in bottom part," Zverev said after the match, according to Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times. "I should have been the favorite there, I just played a very bad match.
"I know that I could have done some big things here. I know that I could have done something I haven't done before. But I won't."