NEW YORK (USA): Alexander Zverev on Wednesday overcame 19-year-old American Brandon Nakashima 7-5, 6-7, 6-3, 6-1 to advance at the US Open third round.
The fifth-seeded German landed 75 percent of his first serves and hit 24 aces to hold off a determined effort from in Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The world No. 7 will next meet the winner of American Jack Sock and Adrian Mannarino of France for a place in his second Round of 16 in Flushing Meadows.
“In Grand Slams, nothing is stable, so you gotta find a way through,” Zverev said.
He will be pleased to have gotten past Nakashima in four. The American wild card was attacking the net and handling Zverev’s pace well enough to make one forget that 216 places in the rankings separate them.
Nakashima won the second set when Zverev double-faulted, one of 10 he donated, and the 6-foot-1 American looked as if he’d push the German the rest of the way.
But Nakashima, who was making his Grand Slam debut this week, couldn’t sustain the level and was broken in the fourth game of the third set and three times in the final offering.
