Young
gun Zverev beaten by Coric at U.S. Open
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[August 31, 2017]
By Steve Keating
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fourth seed
Alexander Zverev had his bid for a maiden grand slam title come to a
crushing end on Wednesday when Borna Coric rallied for a 3-6 7-5
7-6(1) 7-6 (4) victory in the second round of the U.S. Open.
The two 20-year-olds may be part of tennis's next generation but the
German and Croat have gone toe-to-toe on court since they were
youngsters.
The clash was not even the first time the two have met at Flushing
Meadows with Coric beating Zverev in the U.S. Open junior boys
semi-finals on the way to winning the title in 2013.
As professionals Zverev and Coric have met once, where the Croat
came out on top with a three-set victory in the opening round at
Cincinnati in 2015.
Despite crossing paths over the years Zverev insisted that the two
players do not have a history -- yet.
"We played two times (as professional), so... I don't know, is that
a history?" said Zverev. "I think Rafa (Nadal) and Roger (Federer)
have a history. Or Novak (Djokovic) and those guys have a history.
"I don't think we have a history."
If they do not have history Zverev and Coric most certainly have a
burgeoning rivalry.
"It's that NextGen thing, you know, what ATP is promoting," said
Coric. "I don't see it as a big rivalry.
"I think we all have our paths, our careers. We need to go in our
way."
Zverev, winner of five titles this season including a warmup
tournament in Montreal where he defeated Roger Federer in the final,
looked poised to settle the score when he grabbed the opening set.
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Alexander Zverev of Germany serves to Borna Coric of Croatia on day
three of the U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King
National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
But the 61st-ranked Coric battled back to win three
close sets, the last two in tie-breaks, to leave the German swinging
his racquet in frustration.
"It's upsetting. The way I played was upsetting," said Zverev. "The
tournament so far is upsetting for me."
Zverev's frustration was grounded in the fact he missed an
opportunity to go deep onto the tournament with Andy Murray out with
injury and world number one Nadal and five-time U.S. Open champion
Federer both in the top half of the draw.
"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," Zverev said.
"I was the highest-ranked player in the bottom half of the draw
after Andy retired.
"The draw is pretty open in the bottom part. I felt like I should
have been the favored there.
"I just played a very, very bad match, so it's unfortunate. But
that's how it is."
(Editing by Greg Stutchbury) [© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All
rights reserved.]
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