Zhang Zhizhen becomes first Chinese player to defeat top-five ranked opponent in the Grand Slam Open Era

It took five sets for the 26-year-old to get the better of the fifth seed. 

A valiant effort from Zhang Zhizhen saw him beat fifth seed Casper Ruud in a thrilling five-set contest to advance into the third round at the US Open 2023. The 26-year-old caused one of the biggest upsets in the men’s singles bracket with a (6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 0-6, 6-2) win to move further in the draw. As a result, he became the first Chinese man to defeat a top-five ranked opponent at a Grand Slam tournament.

Earlier this year, Casper Ruud had eliminated Zhang Zhizhen from the third round of the French Open 2023. The Chinese took his revenge to become the first-ever player from his country to defeat a top-five-ranked player at a Grand Slam tournament in the Open Era.

Display of power

Zhang Zhizhen blew apart Casper Ruud’s chances of advancing into the third round of the US Open thanks to 18 aces compared to nine by the Norwegian. Zhang ,26, was determined to exact revenge for the French Open defeat and become the first Chinese male athlete in the Open Era to reach multiple Round of 32s at Grand Slam tournaments.

The match lasted for three hours and 19 minutes which saw Zhang Zhizhen deliver 60 winners on the hard court. Despite making 41 unforced errors to Ruud's 32, Zhizhen showed incredible resilience to win 137 total points in the fiery contest.

In the 2022 edition, Zhang Zhizhen lost in the first round to Tim van Rijthoven, despite having seven match points to finish the contest. It was a disappointing campaign for the Chinese player who has evolved into a fabulous player since then. In the next round of the men’s singles, Zhizhen will be up against Rinky Hijikata of Australia, who beat Pavel Koto and Marton Fucsovics in the opening two rounds respectively.