Casper Ruud, 5th in the world and finalist last year, was eliminated in the second round of the US Open on Wednesday by the Chinese Zhizhen Zhang (6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 0-6, 6-2 ). The 24-year-old Norwegian reached the final at Roland-Garros again this year, as in 2022, but he was beaten in the second round in Australia, at Wimbledon and therefore at Flushing Meadows. It is therefore Zhang, 67th in the world, who will face the Australian Rinky Hijikata (110th) for a place in the round of 16.
A clay-court specialist, Ruud has not lined up two consecutive victories on hard courts this season. Zhang himself had played five Grand Slam tournaments before this US Open: he had always lost in the first round, with the exception of Roland-Garros this year when he reached the third round. “I can’t say that the US Open last year was a bad memory, but this year it has nothing to do with it,” commented the 26-year-old Chinese hotly.
Against Ruud, he managed 60 winning strokes (against 39 for his opponent) and committed 41 unforced errors (against 32). He reached the quarter-finals this year in Madrid, where he was the first Chinese to reach this stage in Masters 1000, and the semi-finals in Hamburg. In October 2022, he became the first Chinese to join the ATP Top 100.
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