US Open 2020: Coco Gauff loses to Anastasija Sevastova in first round
Coco Gauff is knocked out in the US Open first round after a lacklustre performance in a 6-3 5-7 6-4 loss to 31st seed Anastasija Sevastova.
Coco Gauff is knocked out in the US Open first round after a lacklustre performance in a 6-3 5-7 6-4 loss to 31st seed Anastasija Sevastova.
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German seeking first Grand Slam crown
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.
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ATPTour.com looks at the top Movers of the Week in the FedEx ATP Rankings, as of Monday, 31 August 2020
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)