Alexander Zverev has contested numerous five-set battles in the opening rounds of Grand Slam events, but the World No. 7 avoided such an opening to his US Open campaign with an impressive win on Monday.

The fifth seed faced a serious challenge against 2017 runner-up Kevin Anderson on Arthur Ashe Stadium and he rose to the occasion, recording a 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-3, 7-5 victory after three hours and seven minutes. It was Zverev’s first victory since the resumption of the ATP Tour, having lost his opening match at the Western & Southern Open to former World No. 1 Andy Murray.

”I am actually quite happy with a first round like that,” said Zverev. “Kevin is not someone you usually play in a first round. This is a fourth round, quarter-final, semi-final match normally against him. I am extremely happy to be through.”

Zverev is one of the leading contenders to capture his first major title at this event. Only three Grand Slam champions are competing in the main draw in New York: 17-time major titlist Novak Djokovic, three-time Grand Slam winner Murray and 2014 champion Marin Cilic. In his most recent major appearance, Zverev reached his first Grand Slam semi-final at this year’s Australian Open.

Zverev improves to 6-0 in his ATP Head2Head series against Anderson, who underwent right knee surgery on 19 February. The German will next face #NextGenATP American Brandon Nakashima, who defeated Paolo Lorenzi 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(3), for a spot in the third round.

After splitting a competitive opening two sets, Zverev won five straight points on his opponent’s serve to break for a 3-1 third-set lead. The German used his forehand to push Anderson behind the baseline and moved up the court to clinch the break with a delicate backhand drop volley. The 2018 Nitto ATP Finals champion, who won five of six net points in set three, held to love at 5-3 to move one set from victory.

”[My volley] is something that I worked on in these six months,” said Zverev. “It was my serve, my volleys that I worked on. In the [Western & Southern Open] match, I thought I did those two things well until the really important moments and I wanted to do it differently to finish off the match today.”

In a fourth set dominated by serve, Zverev converted the only break point of the set at 5-5. The 11-time tour-level titlist capitalised on multiple errors from Anderson to serve for the match and held to love to improve to 8-5 at the major championship.

No. 1 Novak Djokovic, –
The Serbian completed a second Career Golden Masters at the Western & Southern Open (d. Raonic) to tie Rafael Nadal’s record of 35 ATP Masters 1000 titles. With the resumption of the ATP Tour after a five-month suspension, Djokovic is now on 284 weeks at No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings – two weeks shy of Pete Sampras’ mark of 286 weeks. Roger Federer has spent the most weeks at No. 1 on 310 weeks. Read & Watch W&S Open Final Report

No. 18 Milos Raonic, +12
The Canadian returned to the Top 20 of the FedEx ATP Rankings for the first time since 12 August 2019 after competing in his fourth ATP Masters 1000 final on Saturday at the Western & Southern Open (l. to Djokovic). The 29-year-old beat Sam Querrey, Daniel Evans, two-time former champion Andy Murray, Filip Krajinovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to the title match. Raonic, who underwent left wrist surgery in 2017 and has suffered a number of injuries, rose to a career-high No. 3 on 21 November 2016.

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No. 35 Reilly Opelka, +4
The American is four spots shy of his career-high after reaching his first Masters 1000 quarter-final in New York, where he lost to Tsitsipas. The 22-year-old recorded the fifth Top 10 win of his career over No. 8-ranked Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 7-6(4) in the third round. He hit 54 aces in four matches.

No. 66 Marton Fucsovics, +18
The Hungarian qualified for the Masters 1000 tournament, held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York, and beat 2017 titlist Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 in the second round, before falling to Krajinovic. He soared 18 spots to No. 66 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, but remains 35 positions shy of his career-high (No. 31 on 4 March 2019).

Other Notable Top 100 Movers
No. 11 Roberto Bautista Agut, +1

No. 26 Filip Krajinovic, +6 (Career High)
No. 29 Jan-Lennard Struff, +5 (Career High)
No. 48 Tennys Sandgren, +7
No. 53 Aljaz Bedene, +8
No. 65 Ricardas Berankis, +7
No. 92 Emil Ruusuvuori, +8 (Career High)

Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz. That’s it. That’s the list. The youngest players from Spain to lift a trophy on the ATP Challenger Tour.

On Sunday, the 17-year-old Alcaraz had his maiden moment in the spotlight, streaking to the title at the Challenger 100 event in Trieste, Italy. It was a marathon week for the teen, who won seven matches in nine days on the clay of the Tennis Club Triestino. After emerging from qualifying, he dropped just one set in the main draw, culminating in a 6-4, 6-3 win over home hope Riccardo Bonadio.

At the age of 17 years and three months, Alcaraz joined elite company with his maiden crown. Nadal is the only Spaniard who has won a Challenger title at a younger age. The former World No. 1 captured his first title in Barletta, Italy, as a 16-year-old and was two months younger than Alcaraz when he added a second crown on home soil in Segovia. In addition, Alcaraz is one of just four 17-year-olds from Spain to triumph on the circuit, joining Nadal, Nicola Kuhn and Nicolas Almagro.

Alcaraz is fast becoming one of the hottest young stars in the game and he put the entire circuit on notice this week, boasting an attacking mentality and bold shotmaking. Armed with a lethal arsenal from the baseline and a biting drop shot, the Spaniard isn’t afraid to use all corners of the court to plot his assault.

Youngest Challenger Champions Since 2010

After nearly six months on the sidelines, due to the COVID-19 hiatus, Alcaraz was itching to return to the court. The Spaniard, who had notched his first match win on the ATP Tour in February, in Rio de Janeiro, was eager to build on the momentum. Just two weeks into the restart, it did not take him long to rediscover his form.

Alcaraz became the youngest player to win an ATP Challenger Tour title since Felix Auger-Aliassime in 2017 (Sevilla). The Canadian was two months younger at the time. Also, he is the fourth-youngest winner since 2010, with only Auger-Aliassime (two titles) and Alexander Zverev lifting trophies at a younger age.

Having opened the year just inside the Top 500 of the FedEx ATP Rankings, the Murcia native is already closing in on the Top 200. He rises 93 spots to a career-high No. 217 on Monday.

Alcaraz spoke with ATPChallengerTour.com following his breakthrough win…

Carlos, congrats on winning your first Challenger title. How does it feel?
The truth is that this is an incredible moment for me, to win my first title. At the beginning of the week, I was hoping to get into qualifying at Roland Garros. I needed to do well at this tournament to get there. I achieved that and it’s a big prize for me.  

To win your first title is never easy. What was the key this week? How did you get it done?
I just needed to play my game. And most imporantly, stay calm and focused on the court. I played at my level throughout all the matches. That was the key.

Talk about the final. Did you feel nervous today?
Actually, I felt more nervous yesterday [against Lorenzo Musetti]. I was pretty nervous then. But, I focused on relaxing myself as the match went on and it worked.

How important is a week like this as you are transitioning to the Challenger Tour?
There are a lot of [FedEx ATP Rankings] points at stake at the Challenger level. It’s a very good experience for me, to play at such a high level against really good players. It’s also good preparation for when I compete at the biggest tournaments.

After a five-month break, was it difficult to find your best level so quickly?
It’s been a long time since I last played a tournament. You never want to be away from competition for so long. But I worked hard with my physical trainer, kept in good shape and now I prepared well for these matches. That’s all.

You are working with Juan Carlos Ferrero. What has he brought to your game? How important has he been for your development?
The most important thing is that he helped me find the right attitude when I am playing. He was always calm and focused on the court and that is how I try to play.

What have you learned about your game at the Challenger level? How has your game grown?
On the Challenger Tour, there are really strong players. You have to give everything you have in every match. It’s different at this level. I’ve learned that you always have to play your best and keep the highest level of concentration against these players.

You are the youngest player from Spain to win a title since Rafael Nadal in 2003. How special is that, to be mentioned with Rafa?
I always say that I don’t like to be compared with Rafa, but this is a great achievement. I have to make my own path and I have to enjoy these moments as much as I can. I learned a lot this week.

For those of us who don’t know much about you, tell us something. Do you have any passions outside of tennis?
I love to play golf. Juan Carlos also likes to play and we try to do it together when we can. This is my passion when I’m not playing tennis.

Following the resumption of the ATP Tour at the Western & Southern Open, the US Open takes centre stage with World No. 1 Novak Djokovic leading the charge for the second Grand Slam trophy of the year.

ATPTour.com looks at the storylines to watch in New York:

1) Dominant Djokovic: While the Big Three boasts 13 consecutive and 56 of the past 67 Grand Slam titles, Novak Djokovic has dominated alone of late. He has won five of the past seven majors, including a record eighth Australian Open in February. Djokovic bids to join Roger Federer as the only players to win multiple Grand Slam titles in a season six times.

2) Daniil Returns: Daniil Medvedev became the youngest US Open finalist since Djokovic in 2010 at last year’s US Open. The Russian put together a stellar run of results winning 20 of 23 matches across Washington, Canada, Cincinnati and the US Open to join former World No. 1s Ivan Lendl (1982) and Andre Agassi (1995) as the only players to make finals at all four events in the same year. This year, Medvedev returns as the No. 3 seed with a 10-5 record in 2020. The 24-year-old reached the Western & Southern Open quarter-finals last week (l. to Bautista Agut).

3) Getting Closer: Djokovic, No. 31 seed Marin Cilic and former World No. 1 Andy Murray are the only Grand Slam champions in the draw. However, the No. 2-6 seeds — Dominic Thiem, Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev and Matteo Berrettini — have all reached a major semi-final or final since the start of the 2019 season.

4) Historic Era: Cilic won his first Grand Slam title at the 2014 US Open. Six years later, he remains the most recent player to win his first major trophy and the youngest ATP Tour player with a Grand Slam crown on his resume. Cilic turns 32 next month. Never before in the Open Era have five years — much less six — passed without a first-time Grand Slam men’s singles champion.

5) Boys To Men: Murray is among nine US Open boys’ singles champions in the field and the only one to add the men’s singles title. The 2004 boys’ and 2012 men’s champion will play his second event of 2020 this week. In his first ATP Tour event since lifting the European Open trophy in Antwerp last October, Murray beat World No. 7 Zverev at the Western & Southern Open to earn his first Top 10 victory in three and a half years.

6) Hard Court Success: Since the start of the 2019 ATP Tour season, second seed Thiem has enjoyed consistent success on hard courts. The 2018 US Open quarter-finalist captured his maiden ATP Masters 1000 trophy at last year’s BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, his first of three trophies on the surface in 2019. The Austrian ended 2019 with a run to the Nitto ATP Finals championship match (l. to Tsitsipas) and reached his maiden Australian Open final in February (l. to Djokovic).

7) #NextGenATP In New York: There are 11 #NextGenATP stars in the US Open main draw. Reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion Jannik Sinner (19) and two-time Milan runner-up Alex de Minaur (21) are among six #NextGenATP players in the bottom quarter of the draw. The final section also includes 15th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime (20), Miomir Kecmanovic (21 on 31 August), Corentin Moutet (21) and Santiago champion Thiago Seyboth Wild (20). Denis Shapovalov (21), Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (21), Emil Ruusuvuori (21), Brandon Nakashima (19), Sebastian Korda (20) also feature in New York.

8) American Dream: American men are suffering their longest Grand Slam men’s singles title drought in tennis history. The 2020 US Open marks the 17th anniversary of Andy Roddick’s sole major championship triumph. No. 16 seed John Isner, No. 19 seed Taylor Fritz and Western & Southern Open quarter-finalist Reilly Opelka lead 21 Americans in the field this year, the most at a Grand Slam since 22 home players competed at the 1997 US Open.

9) Familiar Feli: Feliciano Lopez got married and became a tournament director in 2019. Neither life change stopped the Spaniard from extending his all-time record streak of Grand Slams appearances, which will reach 73 when he competes at the 2020 US Open. Lopez, who turns 39 next month, began his run as a 20-year-old lucky loser at 2002 Roland Garros.

10) Youth Movement: Fourteen of the 32 seeds are under the age of 25, the most at a major championship since the 2010 Australian Open (14). Ten of the Top 20 seeds are under the age of 25, the most at a Grand Slam event since the 2009 US Open (10). Stefanos Tsitsipas, the youngest Top 10 seed in New York, is attempting to reach his first Grand Slam final. Last year, the Greek advanced to his first major semi-final at the Australian Open (l. to Nadal) and ended the year by lifting the biggest trophy of his career at the Nitto ATP Finals (d. Thiem).

Dominic Thiem’s return to the ATP Tour may not have gone to plan at the Western & Southern Open, but the World No. 3 is well aware of how quickly fortunes can change in tennis.

This year’s Australian Open finalist managed to win just three games in his return match against Filip Krajinovic and will enter the US Open seeking his first victory since the Rio Open presented by Claro in February.

“I know about my strength. I know things can change very quickly. I hope that I do better at the US Open,” said Thiem. “Of course, it’s a little bit weird to stay at the same courts, stay at the same place for another tournament, but I hope that I learned the right things from this match from [the Western & Southern Open] and do it better from Tuesday on.”

Thiem’s loss to Krajinovic was a disappointing result for the Austrian, who had reached the quarter-finals on his past two visits to the ATP Masters 1000 event. But Krajinovic proved in his next two matches that he was playing at an impressive level. The Serbian, who reached the 2017 Rolex Paris Masters final, cruised past Marton Fucsovics and held match point against eventual runner-up Milos Raonic.

“I saw how well Filip was playing after this match,” said Thiem. “He beat Fucsovics 2 and 1. He almost beat Raonic easy in two sets. He’s playing super good at the moment. Me, I didn’t have my best day. That’s how this result comes.”

Unlike most losses on the ATP Tour, Thiem’s early exit from the Western & Southern Open presented him with a new challenge. With the US Open taking place at the same venue — the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center — how did he process the defeat and shift his focus to the US Open?

“[When you lose], normally you hop on the plane and go to a different place. It’s easier to forget,” said Thiem. “Here you’re stuck in the same place for a very long time. So it’s not easy to forget the loss, to get your mind on different things… [I tried to] take a day off, watch TV, some matches.

“Watched some matches also live on the court, which is not that easy under normal circumstances. That’s what I was trying to do. The last days, of course, practising and preparing for the US Open.”

Thiem will hope that his practice and preparation has put him in the perfect position to earn his first win since his run to the Rio de Janeiro quarter-finals in February. His most recent victory came against Jaume Munar, the man he will face in the US Open first round.

Thiem owns a 3-0 ATP Head2Head record against the 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals semi-finalist, but each of those three encounters have been contested on clay. In their most recent match, Munar led 7-6(5), 2-0 before Thiem battled back to earn a three-set victory.

“The previous matches, they were all pretty close, especially the one in Rio,” said Thiem. “I was a set and a break down. I almost lost that one… I need to be prepared well, I need to play well, I need to fight 100 per cent. If I’m able to do that, I’m going to have great chances. If not, I’m going to be out. It’s pretty easy.

”[An] advantage is that I know how Jaume is playing, what I have to expect. It’s going to be our first match on a hard court. I’m curious. Of course, I’m also happy that Grand Slam tennis is back.”