Alexander Zverev, 2020 US Open runner-up, to miss event with injury
The German will miss the year's last Grand Slam while recovering from surgery on his right ankle, while American No. 3 Reilly Opelka has also withdrawn from the tournament.
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NEW YORK (AP) — Alexander Zverev, the 2020 U.S. Open runner-up, will miss the tournament this year while recovering from surgery on his right ankle.
Zverev tore ligaments in the ankle during his semifinal match against Rafael Nadal at the French Open in June, and the No. 2-ranked player withdrew from the U.S. Open on Monday.
The 25-year-old German was on the verge of his first Grand Slam title two years ago in Flushing Meadows before Dominic Thiem rallied to beat him in a fifth-set tiebreaker. It was the first time a man overcame a 2-0 deficit in the final of the event since Pancho Gonzalez did it against Ted Schroeder in 1949.
Zverev won the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo last year and then returned to the U.S. Open semifinals, losing to Novak Djokovic in five sets.
The American No. 3 Reilly Opelka has also withdrawn from the tournament, the USTA announced on Monday. Opelka, ranked world No. 28, won two ATP tournaments in 2022—Houston on clay and Dallas on indoor hard-courts—but struggled with injury in recent weeks that kept him out of events in Atlanta and Cincinnati.
Americans Stefan Kozlov and Jack Sock moved into the main draw for the tournament. Main draw play begins next Monday, Aug. 29.
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