Sunday, September 5th, 2021
Sock has to give up at the US Open
Zverev victory completes the German trio
Alexander Zverev from Hamburg follows Oscar Otte and Peter Gojowczyk into the second round of the US Open in New York. Thus, for the first time since the 1990s, three German tennis men make it into the top 16 in a major tournament.
Shortly before midnight, Alexander Zverev threw tennis balls into the cheering audience and was relieved to be relieved to have made it to the last sixteen at the US Open. The Hamburger won his third round match after his American opponent Jack Sock had to give up due to an injury with a score of 3: 6, 6: 2, 6: 3, 2: 1. Zverev made the best German result in a Grand Slam for 24 years perfect. In the fight for the jump into the quarter-finals, the fourth in the world rankings will now face Jannik Sinner from Italy.
In the first round, Zverev had to admit defeat to the initially outstanding sock, which was cheered on frenetically by the audience. The American had only entered the tournament with a wild card, but hit almost everything, hitting 7 aces and 18 direct punches to win the point. “If Jack had continued to play like this, I would have been done in an hour and a half,” joked Zverev in a good mood at the first interview at Arthur Ashe Stadium. “Then I would have planned my vacation and had a good time in the south of France next week.”
In the other rounds, however, Zverev prevailed thanks to his extra class and celebrated his 14th win in a row. When the finalist of the previous year had fought his opponent down again in the fourth set, Sock grabbed his heavily bandaged thigh and gave up a little later after the break to make it 2-1 for Zverev. Sock hobbled off the field and embraced himself with an apologetic gesture.
“It’s difficult to play against someone who is no longer at 100 percent. You have to keep your focus,” said Zverev. “I’m very sorry for him. I hope it’s not bad and he’ll be back quickly.” In the round of 16, Zverev has a challenging but manageable task. The South Tyrolean Sinner, who was in 13th position, defeated Gael Monfils from France 7: 6 (7: 1), 6: 2, 4: 6, 4: 6, 6: 4. It would be an “extremely entertaining match,” promised Zverev.
The two qualifiers Oscar Otte (Cologne) and Peter Gojowczyk (Munich) are in the round of the best 16 at the Grand Slam tournament in New York. For the first time since Wimbledon 1997 and Boris Becker, Michael Stich and Nicolas Kiefer, three German tennis men made it into the round of 16 in one of the four most important tournaments. At the US Open, three German men last came this far in 1994: Stich, Bernd Karbacher and Jörn Renzenbrink.
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