New York (AFP) – Burning Olympic champion Alexander Zverev continued his unbeaten streak to 12 matches by defeating Sam Querrey 6-4 7-5 6-2 in the first round of the US Open on Tuesday.
The German, the fourth seed in the tournament, has ended Novak Djokovic’s pursuit of the gold medal in Tokyo, and is among the tennis players likely to prevent the Serbian from completing a Grand Slam tournament in New York.
And last year’s runner-up Zverev continued his winning streak after the Olympics, which included winning the title at the Cincinnati Masters.
“Last year was very, very good for me. I was very successful on court,” Zverev said. “I’ve also enjoyed life outside of it so I hope it continues that way.”
Djokovic plays his first round match on Tuesday night against Dan Holger Ron. The world number one is trying to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to conquer all four Grand Slam tournaments in the same year.
Djokovic also broke the tie with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to get the most titles in the men’s branch if he wins the tournament. All three have 20 titles.
Also on Tuesday, Czech Karolina Pliskova (fourth seed) outpaced American teen Katie McNally 6-3 6-4.
Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic – who won gold in the women’s singles – opened with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Dutchman Arantexa Ross.
In other results for the men’s branch, Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas lost 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 to American Ernesto Escobedo. Russia’s Karen Khachanov, who lost to Zverev in the Olympic final, went out 6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to South African Lloyd Harris.
Paul Hubert Hurkacz (10th seed) and American Riley Opelka (22nd) also advanced.
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