By Tracy Zwick
Two-time NCAA champ Michael Zheng lost to France’s Arthur Gea in the third round of the US Open on Saturday night, bringing the 22-year-old’s first appearance in the Open’s main draw to a close.
In front of hundreds of cheering fans within the amped up atmosphere of Grandstand court, Zheng fell in a four-hour, five-set thriller. Though he came from behind several times earlier in the match, going down by a double break at 5-2 in the fifth set proved too much for Zheng to overcome. In the end, his first serve disappointed Zheng on Saturday. Gea was able to attack his second serve, leading to both breaks in the deciding set.
Zheng said after the match that Gea simply “raised his level,” to grab the win. “He was serving great,” Zheng said, and “in some of the bigger moments, he was a little more aggressive, and capitalized a little more.”
Gea spoke highly of Zheng post-match: “He’s really tough; he’s a player who has all the weapons. Today I took the win, but it’ll be hard in the future.”
American Tommy Paul, currently ranked No. 21 in the world, shared Gea’s view. WSR asked Paul on Friday whether he was surprised to see Zheng among the more seasoned American men who made it to the tournament’s third round. Paul said he was “not that surprised.” He called Zheng “an incredible player,” adding: “He’s going to be a problem on the tour for a lot of people, so that’s exciting for him … and American tennis.”
After Saturday’s tough loss, Zheng was reflective. In the media center around 10 p.m., he told reporters: “It was still a good run for me. I’ll use the experience and try to get stronger physically and improve as a tennis player.”
The last few months taught him, he said, that he “can go toe-to-toe with some of the top players, [and] that there are still areas of my game where I can improve, which is a good thing. It means I still have upside. I can keep improving, and that’s one of the most fun things about the sport, when you know you’re playing at a high level but you can still get better.”
Zheng plans to take a few days off, enjoy the city and catch up with friends. He described the turnout for his matches as “amazing” and said a lot of friends had been reaching out. “My phone is blowing up,” he said.
Asked whether he’d return to the Upper West Side or Morningside Heights, he said he was thinking of getting dinner near campus one night, before he gets back to the business of being a professional tennis player. “I think I’m ready to move on from college, but the last four years have been a lot of fun.”
He’s considering playing a tournament in California next week before heading to China for the ATP tour’s Asia swing.
“If someone told me at the end of last year, after my first semester of senior year, that I’d make the third round of Wimbledon, and the third round of the US Open … I’d definitely have signed up for that,” Zheng said. “It’s definitely still a great result here. It’s been a great year for me. There’s nothing to hang my head about.”
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Great reporting, Tracy!