Michael Zheng, the 22-year-old American wildcard and two-time NCAA champion from Columbia University, secured a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Hungary's Fabian Marozsan in his rain-interrupted US Open debut on Wednesday in New York. The match, played on Court 10, took 1 hour 51 minutes, with Zheng breaking serve five times and dropping serve only once. He hit 33 winners against 17 unforced errors and won all but three of 39 points on his first serve.
Zheng's journey from New Jersey to the National Tennis Center
Zheng, who grew up in Montville, New Jersey, spent years commuting to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, first by bus across the Hudson River to the Port Authority bus terminal and then along the No 7 subway line. As a 10-year-old, he made the roughly two-hour trip several times a week, traveling alone from a nearby bus stop after his mother dropped him off. He described the center as "one of the first places that I kind of called home base."
His collegiate career peaked in 2024 when he became the first Columbia student-athlete since 1906 to win the NCAA singles championship, then successfully defended the title last November, becoming the first man in 13 years to do so. This year, he qualified for his first grand slam main draw at the Australian Open, beating Sebastian Korda in five sets, and later reached the third round at Wimbledon, defeating British No 1 Cameron Norrie.
Shelton and Tiafoe advance in third round
Ben Shelton, the eighth seed and highest-ranked American in the men's draw, defeated Hubert Hurkacz 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (3), 7-5 in a match lasting nearly three hours under the closed roof on Ashe. Shelton, a semi-finalist here three years ago, arrived in New York after winning the Montreal title and is seen as a contender to become the first American man to win a major since Andy Roddick at the 2003 US Open.
Frances Tiafoe, the 11th seed, beat Japanese qualifier Rei Sakamoto 6-3, 7-6 (2), 7-5 to reach the third round for a seventh straight year, the longest active streak among men. Tiafoe made only 18 unforced errors to Sakamoto's 40 and dropped serve twice in the 2-hour 40-minute match.
Pegula cruises, other American results
Jessica Pegula, the third seed, dispatched former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin 6-3, 6-1 in just 56 minutes on Ashe, winning the final seven games. She will face Canada's Leylah Annie Fernandez in the third round.
Other American winners included Alex Michelsen, who beat 16th-seeded Brandon Nakashima 6-3, 6-3, 6-4; Emma Navarro, who came from a set down to defeat Caty McNally 3-6, 6-2, 6-3; Tommy Paul, who overcame Croatia's Dino Prizmic 6-2, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4; Taylor Townsend, who trounced Australia's Taylah Preston 6-1, 6-1; teenager Iva Jovic, who beat Poland's Magdalena Frech 7-5, 6-3; and Zachary Svajda, who defeated Germany's Daniel Altmaier 6-3, 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-2.
There was disappointment for Sloane Stephens, the 2017 champion, who lost 6-1, 7-5 to 11th-seeded Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine, and for Sebastian Gorzny, who was beaten by Daniil Medvedev 6-1, 6-3, 7-5 in his debut. Marcos Giron fell to Peru's Ignacio Buse 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-1, while Ann Li rallied to beat Donna Vekic 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-4.
Zheng, who entered the tournament ranked 107th, rose to No 96 in the live rankings, breaking into the top 100 for the first time. He returns to court on Thursday to face China's Yunchaokete Bu, who stunned Rafael Jodar 6-2, 6-1, 6-1.
