THIRD seed Alexander Zverev suffered a shock third round exit at the US Open on Saturday after falling to Canadian 25th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in four sets.
Zverev, the 2020 US Open runner-up, claimed the opening set and held a set point in the second before his game unravelled against the determined Canadian.
Auger-Aliassime secured a memorable 4-6, 7-6 (9/7), 6-4, 6-4 victory in three hours and 48 minutes on the hard courts of Flushing Meadows.
This defeat marks Zverev’s earliest exit from the US Open since 2018, ending his streak of reaching at least the second week in New York.
The German’s disappointing result follows his first round Wimbledon loss last month, which represented his earliest Grand Slam departure in six years.
Auger-Aliassime achieved his best major performance four years ago when he reached the semi-finals at this same venue.
The 25-year-old Canadian expressed his delight at recording his first ever victory over a top-five player at a Grand Slam tournament.
“This feels good. I’ve been coming here since 2018. I’m still young, it’s been a few years but I’m working my way,“ Auger-Aliassime said after his breakthrough win.
“The tournament’s still going, the job’s not done but this means a lot to me.”
Auger-Aliassime now advances to a fourth round encounter against Russian 15th seed Andrey Rublev scheduled for Monday. – AFP
