Zverev rues missed opportunity after US Open exit

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New York, August 31: Alexander Zverev was left to rue a missed opportunity after his early US Open exit and vowed to go back to the drawing board.

There were high hopes that Zverev could live up to the hype and put together a long run at Flushing Meadows, but the fourth seed was beaten 3-6 7-5 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-4) by fellow 20-year-old Borna Coric in the second round.

Zverev has won five singles titles this year – including two Masters tournaments – and the world number six was talked up as a potential contender in New York.

The Next Gen prospect reflected on what might have been, having converted only 11 break-point chances and squandered the opportunity to win the fourth set at 0-40.

Asked if he was affected by increased expectations, the German said: "No, because I've been dealing with expectations from a very young age, so for my whole career.

"For me, this is just another step. I was the highest-ranked player in the bottom half of the draw after Andy [Murray] retired. Now I'm out of the draw.

"For me, nothing changes. I still have to go back to work and then try to win this title maybe in the future years."

He added: "I don't think about it [expectations]. I just play every match the same way, try to play every match the same way. Sometimes you lose, sometimes you win. Luckily for me most of the time this year I was winning, so that's good.

"It's upsetting. Today was upsetting. The way I played was upsetting. The tournament so far is upsetting for me. I know that I could have done some big things here.

"I know that I could have done something that I haven't done before. But I won't. It's just as simple as that."

Source: OPTA