‘Triple Z’ was well on his way to triple heartbreak.

Zhang Zhizhen led home favourite J.J. Wolf two sets to love and 3-0 in the third set on Monday at the US Open and later in the set served for the match. Suddenly, the Chinese star found himself in a deciding set at the season’s final major.

It was eerily similar to two other matches he has played in the past year. In the first round of the 2022 US Open, Zhang let slip seven match points against Tim van Rijthoven. In the opening round of this year’s Australian Open, he was unable to convert a match point against Ben Shelton, who eventually reached the quarter-finals.

“Those tough matches, when you lose, there are actually so many things you can learn and so many things you can improve, which just makes you stronger,” Zhang told ATPTour.com. “That’s first, because from my mental [side], some people say I have a weak mental side. But I think I’m a tough guy, strong guy, because all the time I lost those tough matches, and it still couldn’t break me.

“So it is a good thing and then you go the next step and just go looking for the next match and then you improve. Especially when you lose those [matches], you know how to deal with it.”

Zhang, who also lost a five-setter at Wimbledon this year to Botic van de Zandschulp, would not be denied again. Despite letting slip a big lead against Wolf, he held his nerve for a 7-5, 7-5, 6-7(5), 4-6, 6-3 victory.

“It was a little bit of a different experience of five sets, and also a little bit of a different result,” Zhang said. “In the third set there were chances, but not many because he was playing super great in the third set… This third set was a joke. It has not happened many times in my life, I think in his life also.

“The fifth set, it was tough to hold, especially the first game was 0/40. I’m super happy that I didn’t give up in that moment.”

It would have been normal for Zhang to think back to the big leads he has been unable to capitalise on. Instead of dwelling, he went to the toilet to change his clothes and returned to the court refreshed.

“I was saying, ‘Okay, this year to beat me three sets straight, that’s tough,’” Zhang recalled. “I was thinking like this. I was believing myself. Three sets, at least I can win one set. I was pretty confident, actually.”

The 26-year-old added: “I didn’t think any of last year about those sh** things. Sh** happens to me. But just like when I lost the third set I said, ‘Okay, today’s again tough, it’s not an easy match. I have to go.’”

At last year’s US Open, Zhang was No. 137 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and no Chinese man had ever cracked the world’s Top 100. Despite his disappointing exit at Flushing Meadows, Zhang made history by reaching that milestone in October.

After another setback in Australia against Shelton, Zhang could have fallen into a funk. But instead, he showed his resilience and has enjoyed the best season of his career, climbing to a career-high No. 52 in July.

“Those matches when you lose, many times there’s one or two points’ difference, so it’s a lot of things on the important points and how you decide how to hit the ball and how to be prepared for those points,” Zhang said. “You don’t rush too much and then you don’t go too safe. So you have to find a balance. This you need to learn from the matches.

“From the practice, you will never find the solution because in practice you play points, but you cannot really get the pressure in that moment. Once you play the match, you play more matches, and then you know how the pressure is in that moment, and then how to play the points.”

No panic. No capitulation. Only resilience. That is what Zhang showed against Wolf. In doing so, the 26-year-old proved just how far he has come.

“This year and last year are different. Maybe I am just a little bit more experienced and more mature, more calm during a match. Maybe,” Zhang said. “I know when I get nervous, but maybe I know how to release the problem, to get out of the way, just to figure out the problem.”

Zhang will try to do so again in the second round when he plays fifth seed Casper Ruud.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Novak Djokovic made short work of his first-round clash against Alexandre Muller on Monday at the US Open, where the second seed raced to a 95-minute victory in his first match at the hard-court major since 2021. On the surface it appeared a routine opening triumph for the 23-time Grand Slam champion, but Djokovic later acknowledged there was something different about his 6-0, 6-2, 6-3 win on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“I was excited to go out on the court,” said the 36-year-old in his post-match press conference. “I didn’t care if I started after midnight because I was looking forward to this moment for few years, to be out on the biggest stadium in our sport, the loudest stadium in our sport, playing a night session.

“It was a great joy to be stepping out on the court. I think the performance explains how I felt tonight, particularly in the first two sets. It was kind of lights-out tennis really, almost flawless, a perfect first set.”

Djokovic fired 32 winners and converted eight of 13 break points he earned in his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with the World No. 84 Muller. It was a continuation of the fine form the Serbian showed in Cincinnati, where he lifted his record-extending 39th ATP Masters 1000 crown eight days ago at the Western & Southern Open.

“I probably had the answer for every shot he had in his book,” said Djokovic. “Overall, I’m very, very pleased with the way I feel, with the way I’m playing. Hopefully I can maintain that level. It’s just the beginning of the tournament, but I already like the level of tennis.”

Not messing around 😎@usopen | #USOpen | @DjokerNole pic.twitter.com/juK16AKGjV

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 29, 2023

Prior to Monday, Djokovic’s most recent outing on Arthur Ashe Stadium was the 2021 championship match against Daniil Medvedev, who denied the Serbian a historic calendar-year Grand Slam with a straight-sets victory. However, the disappointment of that loss has done little to temper Djokovic’s affection for a court on which he has appeared in a record nine US Open men’s singles finals and lifted the trophy three times.

“It is the biggest stadium we have in tennis. This court has seen so much history and so many battles,” said Djokovic. “Everyone knows in tennis that night sessions at Arthur Ashe definitely are the most exciting, fun, loud, energetic sessions you can have out there on the tennis world.

“It’s the size. It’s the echo because of the roof construction. It’s everything combined. Just people, New Yorkers, love their tennis. They don’t care if they stay up very late, post-midnight, because they get excited.

“I love it. It’s great because every Grand Slam has its own charm in a way. Comparing to, for example, Wimbledon, it’s a complete contrast. In Wimbledon it’s different than here. Here is all about entertainment, fun, good energy, good vibes.

“If you can feed on that, you’ll have a lot of fun.”

Novak Djokovic guaranteed his return to World No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings Monday night with a commanding opening-round win over Frenchman Alexandre Muller at the US Open.

Playing his first match at Flushing Meadows since Daniil Medvedev denied him a calendar-year Grand Slam in the 2021 final, Djokovic punished the World No. 84 with nine early forehand winners as he took the first eight games of the contest and soon after the match 6-0, 6-2, 6-3. 

“The first set I started tremendously well off the box,” said Djokovic in his on-court interview. “We started quite late. Obviously, there was a ceremony between matches and I knew that we might have a late start, but nevertheless I was excited to come out on the court. It’s been a couple of years, and to come out here in front of you guys is always an honour and a pleasure here on Arthur Ashe.”

What a way to kick things off in NYC 🤩@DjokerNole knocks out Muller 6-0 6-2 6-3.@usopen | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/dsiL0X3yRd

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 29, 2023

Watched by former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, Djokovic dominated from start to finish, clipping 32 winners to Muller’s 11 and excelling at net, winning 20 of 23 approaches.  He also dropped just five points on first serve.  

“I think I could have served [better] in the second and third. I dropped the level of my serve and had to work for my points a bit more, but nevertheless I think I played great from the beginning to the end,” said Djokovic. “Some hiccups, but I liked my level and hopefully I can maintain it in the next round as well.”

The win made certain the Serbian’s displacement of defending US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz as World No. 1 on 11 September, when Djokovic will begin a record-extending 390th week at the top.

Djokovic, 36, is also chasing a record-extending 10th US Open final appearance (3-6 record). Having won the Australian Open and Roland Garros, and reached the Wimbledon final, the 23-time major champion is looking to reach the final of all four Slams in the same season for the third time in his career (2021 and 2015).

In the second round Djokovic will face World No. 76 Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles, who defeated American NCAA champion Ethan Quinn 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.

“He’s a clay-court specialist but over the years all these guys learn how to play on the hard courts,” said Djokovic of Zapata Miralles. “There’s no easy opponent, obviously I respect everyone. I don’t underestimate anybody and try to give my best. Hopefully I can get another win in a few days.”

It was a brutal US Open debut for Muller, who raised his arms in light-hearted celebration when he finally got on the board in the ninth game of the match. Muller had just two tour-level hard-court wins on the season coming into the tournament.

Stefanos Tsitsipas suffered a catastrophe 12 months ago when he took to Louis Armstrong stadium for his opening match of the US Open.

Then World No. 94 Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan swung for the fences and took the racquet out of the Greek’s hand, winning the first 11 games of the match and ultimately prevailing in four sets after clubbing 41 winners.

The seventh seed could be forgiven for feeling a little trepidation as he walked back to Armstrong Monday night to face dangerous Canadian Milos Raonic, who owned a 2-0 lead in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series and who dropped 49 aces in two matches at Wimbledon this year.

Coached solely on the night by Mark Philippoussis, Tsitsipas was also looking for a confidence booster, having won just one match in Toronto and Cincinnati on the heels of capturing his first title of the year in Los Cabos at the beginning of this month.

The former Nitto ATP Finals champion dropped just five games in the opening two sets and responded with back-to-back breaks in the third after Raonic opened a 4-2 lead to close out a 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 win. The 25-year-old two-time major finalist limited Raonic to just eight aces and played a tidy match himself, hitting 25 winners to 20 unforced errors, while his opponent conceded 48 unforced errors and five service breaks.

“It was fun to play high quality tennis against a champion like Milos,” Tsitsipas said on court after the match. “He’s dealing with a comeback and I knew he had nothing to lose. I had to bring my A game from the very first point. I made it physical and it worked.”

Tsitsipas, who has twice reached the third round at Flushing Meadows but never reached the second week, next faces the winner of Dominic Stricker and Alexei Popyrin.

Felix Auger-Aliassime, the 15th-seeded Canadian, slipped into negative territory (14-15) on the year after falling 7-6(5), 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 to American Mackenzie McDonald in three hours, 26 minutes.  Felix, who won 60 matches last year, has dropped 11of his past 14 matches.

McDonald, who reached the Toronto quarter-finals and the third round in Cincinnati, moved past his 26-match wins total for the 2022 season with Monday’s victory and moved to a career-high No. 37 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. He next meets the winner of Hugo Dellien and Borna Gojo.

Top 10 stars Casper Ruud and Holger Rune were both involved in four-set matches Monday at the US Open but only Ruud survived his first-round test at the hard-court major in New York.

The 2022 finalist Ruud held off home qualifier Emilio Nava 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) on Court 17 at Flushing Meadows for his 200th tour-level victory. The fifth seed overcame an uber-aggressive performance from the 21-year-old Nava, who struck a remarkable 72 winners to Ruud’s 27 but was unable to find the consistency required to pull off an upset.

Aware of his opponent’s desire to dictate, Ruud stayed cool and offered up just 21 unforced errors to Nava’s 49 across the four sets. That approach was particularly key in the tie-breaks he won in the first and fourth sets, as Ruud’s greater experience told under pressure.

Ruud is now 10-5 at the US Open, where he fell to Carlos Alcaraz in last year’s championship match. His next opponent as he seeks another deep run at Flushing Meadows will be Zhang Zhizhen, after the Chinese star defied a J.J. Wolf comeback for a 7-5, 7-5, 6-7(5), 4-6, 6-3 first-round win.

Roberto Carballes Baena earlier engineered the first major upset of the fortnight in New York as the World No. 63 defeated fourth seed Rune 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Carballes Baena broke Rune seven times on Court 5 as he registered his first Top 10 win at the 14th attempt in two hours, 42 minutes. He stayed rock-solid against a visibly frustrated Rune, who has now lost four straight tour-level matches stretching back to his quarter-final defeat to Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon.

A STUNNING WIN 👏

The moment @Robertocarba93 secured the first Top 10 win of his career!

🎥 @usopen | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/NEK6GiRocf

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 28, 2023

The 30-year-old Carballes Baena made just 21 unforced errors to Rune’s 43, frugality which kept the Dane under constant pressure throughout the pair’s first meeting since Wimbledon. Rune was a straight-sets winner at SW19 but could not raise his level consistently enough in Monday’s clash in New York to prevent Carballes Baena taking a 2-1 Lexus ATP Head2Head series lead against the World No. 4.

Now into the second round for the fifth time in six main-draw appearances at Flushing Meadows, Carballes Baena next faces Jiri Lehecka or Aslan Karatsev as he looks to reach the third round for the first time.