Good things come to those who wait. Just ask Marco Chiudinelli and Mischa Zverev.
For the 34-year-old Swiss and 29-year-old German, the interlude between Grand Slam match wins had been long and arduous and laden with injuries. But both veterans put an emphatic halt to their respective slides on Monday at the US Open, with Chiudinelli claiming his first victory in a major in six years and Zverev notching his first in seven years.
“It feels great now, but on court I tried to not think about it,” Zverev, who defeated Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4, 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-0, admitted to ATPWorldTour.com. “If you think about it, it will bite you in the end. I was trying to focus on my game, especially when I was up in the fourth set. I wanted to distract myself from thinking about it. You have to trick your own brain sometimes.
“Now that I look back, I made it through qualies for the first time ever at the US Open, I won my first match ever here and won my first Grand Slam match in seven years, so it feels great. It’s nice to see that I’m a little older and can still do it.”
Entering the tournament, Zverev had not earned a main draw match win at the Grand Slam level since Wimbledon 2009. After staring at a catalogue of injuries, including a broken right wrist in 2009, herniated disc and fractured ribs in 2010, patella tendon tear in 2013 and surgery on his left wrist in 2014, he says it is gratifying to finally have this experience in New York.
“For many years I didn’t work as hard and try as hard, maybe because I was injured a lot. But I took a mental break for tennis and regrouped. When my brother started playing well again, we helped each other and started pushing each other to play better. When I was here many years ago, I was by myself. Now we’re here with the whole family and our puppy. It’s a different atmosphere and more enjoyable and fun. I just feel better on the court.
“I actually had a lot of good friends around me who have supported me and encouraged me to enjoy my time on tour. That is, just stay positive and hope that the next day is going to be better than the one before. Since I played Kitzbuhel, it’s been like that. I won a round there, almost qualified in Toronto, but then qualified in Atlanta, qualified and won a round in Los Cabos and qualified in Cincinnati, which was really tough.”
Chiudinelli had endured a similar fate in recent years, battling through multiple ailments that kept him on the sidelines. Now fully healthy, the Swiss earned his first Grand Slam victory since the 2010 US Open.
But the similarities between Chiudinelli and Zverev don’t end there. Both players had captured a trio of match wins in qualifying to reach the main draw, and both entered the fortnight in Flushing Meadows with an ATP Challenger Tour title under their belts in 2016. Chiudinelli lifted the trophy in Wroclaw, Poland, and Zverev did the same on the green clay of Sarasota, U.S.A. in April.
The Swiss believes it was a significant moment in his comeback campaign.
“I played really well at the beginning of the year and reached the semis and final at the Challengers in Bangkok and Manila. Lost both times to Youzhny, who had such a great run. In Wroclaw, Poland, it was the third time I went far already this year and finally I got through. It meant a lot to me, since I hadn’t lifted a trophy in a while. It was a big relief.”
On Monday, Chiudinelli, a former World No. 52 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, rallied to defeat fellow qualifier Guilherme Clezar 2-6, 7-6(6), 6-2, 6-4 in exactly three hours. The fighting spirit has never left the Swiss, and, as he has done to return to the highest levels of the sport following three major surgeries – elbow, knee and shoulder – he battled from a set and a break down to prevail.
“I’m really happy about it. It’s been six years, which is a really long time. But I didn’t think about it like this. I didn’t take it into the match. I’m happy I won another match at a Grand Slam and I hope it’s not the last. I’ve won two second-round matches here in the past and I hope I can add a third one Wednesday.
“This year, I’ve been healthy and I’ve been able to play since January 1st. I didn’t have a week where I wasn’t at my best with my elbow. I’m happy with the way things are going physically. Two years ago, I lost a really close match and last year I lost in the last round of qualies. I think I could have done better, but I knew that this is the Grand Slam where I have the best chances. That is the mental state I have and obviously my goal is to do well. So far, I’m happy that it’s working out well.”
Zverev will face 26th seed Jack Sock in the second round, while Chiudinelli battles 24th seed Lucas Pouille.
