Coric Beats No. 4 Seed Zverev While Shapovalov Knocks Out No. 8 Tsonga
(August 30, 2017) FLUSHING MEADOWS, NY – Alexander Zverev came into the US Open as one of the top four to win the title. Croatia’s Borna Coric had something to say about it, but let his racquet do the talking when he took down the 20-yearold German 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (4) in the second round of the US Open.
“I want to win every match. That’s my goal,” said the 20-year-old Coric.
“I just went out there, I was fighting. I gave my best. I gave my all. I left it all on the court. Yeah, it was very good day.”
“I think we are playing quite similar tennis pretty much, only he’s serving a little bit bigger than me. So, I mean, I don’t know. In the first set, I lost that break, which I played a really, really bad game. That was enough for him to just manage and to hold his serve because I could not get any returns in the court.
“In second set, I thought I started to play better and I started to serve much better. I was hitting the spots very good. Then I think I was little bit lucky on 6-5, 40-Love down. I think also he got little bit maybe sloppy. He also thought maybe the game is already over.
“Then last two sets, I mean, we were holding serves. In the important points, I was serving very good. I played some big points on three set points down. That’s it.”
As for Zverev, he was very disappointed.
“Physically I’m fine,” he said. “I just played very, very bad in the second and third set. I should have won the third. I definitely should have won the fourth.
“But, you know, it’s upsetting because the draw is pretty open in the bottom part. I felt like I should have been the favored there. You know, I just played a very, very bad match, so it’s unfortunate. But that’s how it is.”
“I’ve been dealing with expectations from a very young age, so for my whole career. For me, this is just another step. I was the highest-ranked player in the bottom half of the draw after Andy retired. Now I’m out of the draw, so…
“For me, nothing changes. I still have to go back to work and then try to win this title maybe in the future years.”
“I just lost the second round of a major where I shouldn’t have lost, so I’m not thinking about the rest of the year.”
“It’s upsetting. Today was upsetting. The way I played was upsetting. The tournament so far is upsetting for me. I know that I could have done some big things here. I know that I could have done something that I haven’t done before. But I won’t. It’s just as simple as that.”
Youth was also served in the second night match in Arthur Ashe Stadium when Canadian 18-year-old qualifier Denis Shapovalov stunned eighth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(3).
“I played unbelievable today, very high level,” said the Canadian. “I don’t know why, but I just managed to stay loose and go for my shots the whole match, except a little bit at 5-3 or 5-4, serving for the third set. Got a little bit tight, stopped moving my feet on a couple shots, sailed some forehands.”
“I stayed loose from the beginning. I mean, I broke him first game. I mean, obviously it’s intimidating, it’s so big, there’s so much going on. The screens are working during the points. Yeah, there’s a lot of people moving and talking. It’s not easy to play in.
“But I don’t know, I mean, I was playing loose. Like I said before the match, I was going in with nothing to lose. Yeah, I was having fun on the court. There were a couple times during the match I was just smiling, having a good time. I was enjoying the atmosphere. It’s a dream come true for me to play a night match on Arthur Ashe. I mean, I grew up wanting to do this.
“First of all, thank you to USTA for setting that up. But, yeah, I think I had a very fun night.”
Before beating Rafael Nadal in the Montreal Masters, Shapovalov was know for an incident in Davis Cup in October, when he carelessly hit a ball after losing a point and it hit an umpire in the eye and he was defaulted.
“I’ve come a long way from the incident. Yeah, I’ve been working extremely hard on it. It’s definitely helped me mature.
“But I don’t think this match has anything to do with it. I’ve apologized constantly before, and I continue to apologize for my actions. It’s something I have to live with. But for me it’s in the past and I’m a different person and a different player now. So it’s a completely new match.”
“I think every win that I’ve been going through, it’s been securing anyone’s doubts or even my own doubts, whether or not I belong,” he said. “I belong with these guys, playing these high-level tournaments.
“So this win, it’s definitely another confidence boost. It shows that Montreal wasn’t a fluke week. To do it back-to-back, it’s not easy. I’ve had to go through qualifying, which is also stacked with super tough players.
“So I’m extremely proud of myself for how long I’ve come. It’s going to be another battle against Kyle (Edmund). I’m going to do the best I can to take it to him. But, yeah, it’s going to be a difficult match.”
