Zhang Zhizhen earned the biggest win of his career Wednesday when he outlasted World No. 5 Casper Ruud in five sets at the US Open.
The Chinese star survived a thrilling back-and-forth encounter, upsetting last year’s finalist Ruud 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 0-6, 6-2 after three hours, 18 minutes.
Zhang delivered an inspired performance, striking 59 winners to become the first Chinese man to earn a Top 5 win since the beginning of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings (1973). The World No. 67, who also needed five sets to get past J.J. Wolf in the opening round, will next face Australian Rinky Hijikata in the third round.
More to follow...