Tiafoe ends Zverev winning streak, Donaldson also advances in Cincinnati

Alexander Zverev’s winning streak has finally come to an end.

Zverev, the recent champion in both Washington, D.C. and Montreal, had his 10-match surge halted when he succumbed to Frances Tiafoe 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the Western & Southern Open second round on Wednesday. Playing just three days after bagging the Montreal title, Zverev double-faulted seven times and lost his Cincinnati opener after one hour and 56 minutes.

“(My) strategy was just keep him out there,” Tiafoe noted. “He has to be tired. He’s played a tough couple of weeks; tough matches–a lot of night matches, too.”

“I was just, like, ‘If I can keep the rallies long and just keep making balls, just run down a lot of balls and keep making him play an extra ball, even if I barely get it over the net, just keeping the balls in.’ And he was getting pretty frustrated. There were times where he acted like he [would go away], and (then) he would step up. It was a roller-coaster match. I was happy to get it over the line.”

Highlights:

The result was a much-needed one for Tiafoe, who is inside the top 100 thanks to success on the Challenger circuit but had been 5-24 lifetime at the ATP level prior to Cincinnati.

“These are wins that definitely can change your career the right way,” the 19-year-old American commented. “This is a big relief for me. We grew up together playing junior Grand Slams, playing Under-12s, Under-14s. I have known him for forever. Seeing him rise like that, I was, like, ‘Maybe I can do the same.’ Then he beat me twice, and I was, like, ‘All right, maybe I can’t.’ So me beating him today made me feel pretty good.”

Fellow up-and-coming American Jared Donaldson joined Tiafoe in the winner’s circle on Thursday by defeating Ramkumar Ramanathan 4-6, 6-2, 6-4. The 20-year-old, ranked 60th, is through to the third round of a third consecutive tournament (previously in Washington, D.C. and Montreal).

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