Sascha Zverev misses a huge opportunity to make a deep run at the US Open. The German was seeded no.4 at this event, and the other top seed in his half (Murray) withdrew soon after the draw was compiled to leave a big gap in the lower half. Sascha seemed to be destined to grab his first grand slam final especially after his convincing performance in Montreal where he won the second ATP1000 of the season, but things got sideways pretty soon.

The Match

Zverev had to face a tough Borna Coric in the second round in New York. After winning a routine 1^st set 6-3, the seed no.4 seemed to be in cruise control in the second set even if he wasn’t able to break Borna. Then suddenly the German collapsed in the last game of the set when he was broken after he squandered a 40-0 lead (7-5).

Zverev was having the upper hand also in the 3^rd set, but he wasn’t able to convert any of his 7 break point chances before he lost the breaker in at 1.

The 4^th set was another missed opportunity for Zverev that wasn’t able to convert 3 consecutive set points (0-40) on Coric’s serve when he was leading 6-5.

Finally, the German had to surrender at the following tie break, and he lost the match 3-6 7-5 7-6 (1) 7-6 (4).

Welcome to the conversation Mr. Borna Coric pic.twitter.com/TzBVOxBgUd

— White Whale (@whale_capper) August 31, 2017

@borna_coric great win today !!!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🎾🎾🎾🎾 #gamesetmatch #usopen @usopen pic.twitter.com/cCp73xSall

— Don (@DonAmato1) August 31, 2017

Why Zverev was so upset

Soon after the match, Sascha commented

“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.”

Unbelievable @borna_coric! 👏 What a performance for this young talent! 💣👀🔝💥 pic.twitter.com/ZMPdm9cB28

— Irina Aldea (@IrinaAldea) August 31, 2017

What about Coric?

Besides the fact that Sascha didn’t play his best tennis, we need to acknowledge that Borna, that is just 5 months older than the German, fully deserved the win and he confirms his potential to be a top player in the near future.

Coric will later face Kevin Anderson for a place in the 4^th round. The head to head is 2-0 for the South African, but Borna has the tennis to create another upset.