“Novak is the big favorite,” Alexander Zverev downplays his chances at US Open 2021

“Novak is the big favorite,” Alexander Zverev downplays his chances at US Open 2021

Alexander Zverev

Alexander Zverev continued his unbeaten run on hard courts, as he stormed into the fourth round of US Open 2021. The German earned a spot in the fourth round, after Jack Sock had to retire from the match owing to an injury. The American withdrew in the fourth set, when he was a set and a break down.

Alexander Zverev heaped praise on Jack Sock’s quality of tennis in the first set, and that if Sock had continued to do the same, he had probably not won the match. The American hit 17 winners in the first set, with just two unforced errors to his name.

“Jack I think played the best set of tennis I’ve ever seen him play,” Zverev said. “I did one unforced error in the whole set and I lost it, 6-3, without having really any chances. If he would have kept it up I probably would not have won the match. To be honest, if he hits 17 winners and—what was it?—two unforced errors, there’s not much you can do,” he added.

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Daniil Medvedev is playing incredible tennis: Alexander Zverev

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Alexander Zverev has earned the billing of being one of the top contenders at Flushing Meadows this year. The German has been in exceptional form in the past two months, winning the Olympic gold at Tokyo Olympics. Moreover, he claimed the title at Cincinnati Open, defeating Andrey Rublev in straight sets in the final.

However, Alexander Zverev downplayed his chances at US Open 2021, and stated that Daniil Medvedev and Novak Djokovic are among other contenders. According to him, Djokovic is the favorite to win the title.

“I’m on a 14-match winning streak now,” Zverev said. “I’m playing well. That’s all I want to say, I don’t want to say anything else. We all know that Novak is the big favorite, we all know that Daniil [Medvedev] is playing incredible tennis, we all know that there are a lot of other players out there that are playing incredible tennis,” he added.

Alexander Zverev will now face the Italian, Jannik Sinner in the fourth round of US Open 2021 on Monday. The German is looking up to a great match, and describes Sinner as a tricky opponent.

“I think my fourth-round match against Jannik Sinner is going to be extremely entertaining because he’s a very young guy who is very hungry and I feel like that is going to be a high-level match,” Zverev said. “I do know that I’m playing okay, but I do know that other players are playing extremely well as well, so I’m hoping to keep my form and give myself the best chance,” the fourth seed concluded.

Also Read: Ash Barty crashes out of the 2021 US Open courtesy an epic comeback from Shelby Rogers