- Mark-Andrea Hustler (ATP 85) lost against Denis Shapovalov (ATP 21) 6: 2, 4: 6, 4: 6, 6: 3, 1: 6 in the first round of the US Open.
- On his debut in the main draw at Flushing Meadows, the Zurich man got off to a strong start, but then the Canadian favorite turned in the heat.
- After Hustler’s exit, no Swiss are represented in the men’s tableau, only Belinda Bencic advances to the next round for the women.
The US Open for all Swiss men has already ended after the first round. With Mark-Andrea Hüsler (ATP 85), the third and last candidate failed on Wednesday night after Stan Wawrinka and Alexander Reitschard. This leaves only Belinda Bencic from the Swiss faction, who won against Andrea Petkovi in the tournament.
Hustler, who had been in good form until recently, had a really ideal start in the game against favorite Canadian Denis Shapovalov (ATP 21). Thanks to two breaks, he confidently took the first set 6:2.
The Zurich man played his game, looking calm and solid. Beyond that, however, his opponent still lacked all these qualities. Shapovalov landed slightly on the line and gave both breaks with a double fault.
The picture changed in the middle of the second sentence. Joined the favorite game from Canada and played better now. When the score was 4:3, Hustler had a chance for a break, but his opponent ended it with renewed confidence and his own distinctive dynamism.
In the very next game, Shapovalov got his break opportunities for the first time. The Swiss initially held back and defended three of them. In the fourth round, however, he made the same mistake as his opponent did in the first round: the Zurich native made a double mistake and enabled him to break through the serve. After a while, set equalization was a reality.
hustler is persistent
Shapovalov did not give up, but did not give Hustler a chance in his first game in the main draw of the US Open. In the end, he took the third set with a confident 6:4. However, the Zurich native was persistent. As the Canadian loosened up a bit in the fourth round, Hustler was there, breaking it to make 5:3 and leveling a little later to make it 2:2 after the set.
However, in the deciding set, Shapovalov led 6–1 and held on to his role as the favorite after a total of three hours. Hustler had to say goodbye to the US Open, but was able to do so after a hard fight with his head held high.
