Casper Ruud, the 2022 U.S. Open runner-up, was eliminated Wednesday night when Zhang Zhizhen became the first Chinese man to beat a player in the top five of the ATP rankings.
Zhang upset the No. 5 seed 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 0-6, 6-2 to reach the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the second time. It was his second five-set victory to open this tournament after he lost his first four five-setters.
He wasn바카라t discouraged by those previous losses, with the breakthrough finally coming Monday when he outlasted J.J. Wolf in 4 1/2 hours. 바카라Try to just keep playing and keep believing yourself every single time,바카라 Zhang said. 바카라(Even in) tough moments, still try to believe yourself. In the end, you바카라ll make it.바카라
Zhang became the first Chinese man to compete in the main draw at Wimbledon in the professional era when he qualified in 2021. He qualified last year at the U.S. Open, joining Wu Yibing as the first men from their country in the main draw of the year바카라s final Grand Slam tournament.
The 26-year-old Zhang reached the third round of the French Open in June before falling to Ruud, who had been to the finals in three of the last six Grand Slam events.
바카라I mean, I바카라m not sitting here super disappointed with things that I could have done better or my level, but at the most important moments he was the better player. He stepped up,바카라 Ruud said. 바카라That was different from Paris. I think in Paris I was the one who really stepped up when I had to. It바카라s a different surface, of course. But he has a great serve, beautiful backhand, and forehand, also. When it바카라s on, it바카라s on and really dangerous.바카라
Ruud, who lost to Carlos Alcaraz last year in Flushing Meadows, is the highest-ranked Norwegian in the history of the ATP rankings, which date to 1973. He had reached No. 2 last year and is currently No. 5.
But after dropping the fourth set in just 23 minutes, Zhang broke Ruud바카라s serve to open the final set, adding a second for a 4-1 lead.
Zhang will face Rinky Hijikata of Australia in the third round, and Ruud believes he can keep on going.
바카라I was impressed, in a way, how he played,바카라 Ruud said. 바카라He바카라s going to be a threat for many years.바카라
