After a relatively slow start, Alexander Zverev came around and handled first-round opponent Darian King in straight sets, 7-6(9), 7-5, 6-4.
Zverev didn’t have the greatest run-up to the US Open. He suffered a massive letdown after winning back-to-back tournaments at Washington and Canada as he crashed out in the very first round in Cincinnati.
However, that dip was somewhat expected from the fast-rising 20-year-old star, and shouldn’t really be that big of a concern. He suffered a similar flop with a first-round exit at the French Open, but has recovered very well since.
Zverev has had by far his best season to date on hard court. He’s now 22-7 on the surface, and won those aforementioned back-to-back hard court titles.
The prodigious 20-year-old has a winning record against top-10 ranked opponents this season (6-5), with wins against Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. He should be able to find a way past the World No. 61 Coric.
Borna Coric broke his two-year, first-round losing skid at the US Open as he took care of Jiri Vesely in straight sets, 7-6(5) 7-6(2) 6-2. The 20-year-old didn’t have a perfect match as his serve was broken twice. However, he still won 72 percent of first-serve points and broke back four times.
Coric has had an up and down season in 2017. The World No. 61 has a 17-19 record overall and 8-11 on hard court. He also hasn’t made it past two rounds just once in his last seven tournaments.
However, Coric has had a habit of taking down big-time opposition. He beat Dominic Thiem on the hard court of the Miami Masters earlier this month, and also got the better of Andy Murray. Those are just two of his five career wins against top-10-ranked opposition, an impressive haul for a 20-year-old.
Fellow 20-year-old Alexander Zverev wasn’t a top-10 player when they met for the first time, but Coric still got the better of him. The Croatian won that match, which was on hard court, back in the 2015 Cincinnati Masters.
Writer’s Prediction
Zverev (-750) overcomes Coric in straight sets to reach the third round.
