Oh, brother: favored Zverev goes down at U.S. Open, less-heralded Zverev advances

Not only did Alexander Zverev and Mischa Zverev partake in second-round thrillers at the U.S. Open on Wednesday night, but they were also on the court simultaneously. While the younger Zverev got all he could handle–and more–from Borna Coric on the Grandstand, the older Zverev was locked in a tight battle with Benoit Paire.

On that note, one could actually watch both at the same time, as the balcony of the Grandstand overlooks at least most of Court 4, which staged Mischa vs. Paire. But the Zverev brothers’ father had no time for that. He sat courtside watching Alexander, the No. 4 seed and once the favorite to reach the final from a wide-open bottom half of the draw.

Papa Zverev did not choose wisely–at least not for the sake of his enjoyment.

Whereas Alexander was stunned in four sets by Coric, Mischa survived Paire in five. Just about 10 minutes before Alexander succumbed to Coric 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(1), 7-6(4), Mischa finished off Paire 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-7(3), 7-5.

Top five plays in Coric-Zverev:

“I think overall I’m very happy because (in) the first round I played five sets against someone who was ranked not very high,” said Mischa, who beat former University of Virginia star Thai-Son Kwiatkowski in his opener. “Everybody was like, ‘Well, you should have won easier.’ I said, ‘First round in a slam, if you win, that’s already good. Doesn’t matter if it’s three or five sets.’ I feel like today I played much better, thank God. It was also five sets. I’m, again, happy I got the win.”

Not so for Alexander.

“It’s upsetting because the draw is pretty open in the bottom part,” the 20-year-old lamented. “I felt like I should have been the favored there…. But that’s how it is. I was the highest-ranked player in the bottom half of the draw after Andy (Murray) retired. Now I’m out of the draw.”

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