German Trio Attempts To Crash This Year’s US Open Party

Jan-Lennard Struff
Jan-Lennard Struff (photo: Jürgen Hasenkopf)

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, August 30, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)

In a week that has seen Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz show up for his opening-round match sporting a military-style buzz cut and American favorite and 2023 US Open champion Coco Gauff driven to tears in a crisis of confidence in her serving ability despite winning her first two matches, a trio of German men have quietly – if not surprisingly – reached the third round at the 2025 US Open this week in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

One of them, World No. 3 and third seed Alexander Zverev, has been been impressive in garnering his first two wins at the year’s final major of the season, against 122nd-ranked Alejandro Tabilo of Chile and No. 60 Jacob Fearnley of Great Britain – both in straight sets – and is expected to be a contender well into the second week. Still in search of his first Grand Slam title, Zverev hopes to go one step further than his 2020 US Open runner-up finish.

Zverev’s victory Thursday evening over Fearnley was his 45th of the season. He trails only World No. 2 Alcaraz, who earned his 57th match win of 2025 with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 win over No. 32 seed Luciano Darderi of Italy in an hour and 44 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium Friday afternoon.

“I think my level has been good,” said Zverev, 28, from Hamburg, who will face No. 25 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada Saturday evening on Louis Armstrong Stadium. “It’s been decent. I know that opponents will get extremely difficult the further I get, and a lot of things will change, but I’m happy where my level is at after two matches.”

Another German, 144th-ranked Jan-Lennard Struff, came through qualifying last week with three wins to reach the 128-player main draw and has been one of the biggest surprises of the first week. He upset World No. 11 Holger Rune of Denmark in a surprising five-set thriller during the second round on Wednesday.

Then, on Friday afternoon, the native of Warstein proved his mental strength when he took out World No. 17 Frances Tiafoe of the United States with a straight-set third-round victory that was decided by an exciting third-set tie-break. Throughout, Struff remained calm and collected. He didn’t seem phased at all. 

The 35-year-old Struff advanced with a 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7) win over Tiafoe in two hours and 10 minutes to move into the fourth round at the US Open for the first time. With three-straight main-draw triumphs this week, including two over Top-20 opponents, his PIF ATP Live Ranking moves him inside the Top 100. The outcome shocked the pro-American crowd that filled the 8,125-seat Grandstand and cheered raucously for Tiafoe.

Struff parlayed 14 aces and 37 winners and converted five of 10 break points against the American No. 4 from Maryland. He outpointed Tiafoe 107-89.

“It was an incredible match,” Struff said during his on-court interview. “I think I played very good tennis today. I knew it was going to be very tough. The atmosphere was amazing. I know you guys were cheering for Frances but it was very fair and I want to thank you [fans] for the atmosphere. … I’m very happy with the level I played today.”

In Sunday’s fourth round, Struff will face World No. 7 Novak Djokovic of Serbia, who fought off 35th-ranked Cameron Norrie of Great Britain, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-3, in two hours and 50 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium Friday evening in back of 18 aces and 51 winners.

It was Djokovic’s 192nd career hard-court victory at a major, surpassing Roger Federer. The 38-year-old Djokovic also became the oldest man to reach the US Open fourth round since Jimmy Connors in 1991.

“I’m good. I’m as young as ever and as strong as ever,” Djokovic said during his on-court interview.

The third German, Daniel Altmaier, has taken the scenic route to arrive at the round of 32, winning back-to-back five-setters over Hamad Medjedovic of Serbia in four hours and 46 minutes – longest match of the tournament – and No. 26 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in four hours and 21 minutes.

In his first-round tussle with the the 57th-ranked Medjedjovic, Altmaier fired 24 aces and hit 56 winners. He withstood 28 aces and 80 winners from the 2023 NextGen ATP Finals champion to advance.

Then, against Tsitsipas, the 56th-ranked native of Kempen saved a match point at 4-5 (30-40) in the fifth set en route to beating Tsitsipas, 7-6 (5), 1-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, on the Grandstand in a match that started mid-Thursday evening and ended at the stroke of midnight. He played an aggressive serve-and-volley strategy against the Greek star and it paid off nicely. On match point, Altmaier crafted a perfect backhand volley winner that capped a three-shot rally. He fell to the court in celebration and let out a big sigh of relief before getting up to shake hands with the fallen Tsitsipas.

“It’s a big relief. I just tried to stay in the match. was a break down in the fourth and from that point on I just said that I would try to leave all my energy here,” Altmaier said during his post-match interview on court. “Also, after the first round playing five sets, I left my heart out here. I hope you enjoyed it.”

During the skirmish, Altmaier saved eight of 13 break points, hit 49 winners and overcame 72 winners from Tsitsipas.

“To be honest, tennis is like a sport where you have someone in your head all the time talking to you. I was playing against myself. My body was struggling physically, my heart was telling me ‘no, no, I’m going to push through it.’ So, there was constant analyzing in the head. I tried to be present, tried to keep believing and building each point. Luckily, I got through it. …

“Honestly, I play for moments like this.”

Although the 26-year-old Altmaier twice has reached the fourth round at the French Open, he has never gotten as far as this year’s US Open third round in 11 other major appearances. The 6-foot-2-inch righty with the one-fisted backhand, whose career-high ranking of No. 47 came two years ago, will face World No. 8 and eighth seed Alex de Minaur of Australia on Stadium 17 in Saturday’s third round.

Rybakina ends best US Open finish for Raducanu since 2021

No. 9 seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan ended former US Open champion Emma Raducanu‘s best run at Flushing Meadows since her 2021 trophy year with a 6-1, 6-2 victory in 62 minutes on Louis Armstrong Stadium. Rybakina hit 23 winners to just eight for the unseeded and 36th-ranked Raducanu, who came into the third-round match having won 26 matches this season – a career-high total. She converted four of nine break points and outpointed the British No. 1 56-35.

“It was a good performance for me,” Rybakina said during her post-match news conference. “It’s not always easy to play against Emma. I know that against her I have to play very aggressive. 

Rybakina is through to the second week at the US Open for the first time. It’s the only major that she hasn’t made it to at least the quarterfinal round. 

“It’s true. For some reason, the US Open wasn’t really successful for me,” said Rybakina, who won her first and only major at Wimbledon in 2022. “Hopefully this year, that will change.”

Next, Rybakina will face another Wimbledon titlist, No. 60 Marketa Vondrousova of Czechia, who pushed No. 7 seed Jasmine Paolini of Italy to the limit – playing with great intensity – and came away with a 7-6 (4), 6-1 upset victory in an hour and 26 minutes on the Grandstand. The 2023 Wimbledon champion, who recorded her 15th career Top-20 win with her victory over Paolini, is healthy and having fun on the tennis court.

“It was a very important game,” Vondrousova said of the final game of the third-round match, which was set up by her second break of Paolini during the set that gave her a commanding 5-1 lead. “It was a big difference [whether I was serving] between 4-2 and 5-1. I think [getting the break] was the key to the match. I’m happy to be through.”

Vondrousova won 73 percent of her first-serve points, struck 22 winners, saved the only two break points she faced and converted two of eight break-point opportunities. She outpointed Paolini’s 73-62.

“I’m enjoying myself here,” Vondrousova said. “I’m feeling good and I’m having so much fun on the court. I have a great team around me. It’s incredible to be here again and to be playing good tennis.”

• Other women’s winners advancing to the fourth round include:

Defending champion and top seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, who advanced over No. 31 seed Leylah Fernandez of Canada, 6-3, 7-6 (2), in one hour and 39 minutes on Louis Armstrong Stadium. The World No. 1 hit 28 winners – including six aces – and saved all four break points she faced. She outpointed Fernandez 77-65. Sabalenka, who improved to 6-0 in US Open third-round matches, will face unseeded and 95th-ranked Cristina Bucsa of Spain in the fourth round on Sunday. Bucsa upset No. 19 seed Elise Mertens of Belgium, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, in two hours and 41 minutes on Stadium 17. She hit 41 winners and outpointed Mertens 103-99.

No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula of the United States, who defeated No. 132 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, 6-1, 7-5, in an hour and 38 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Pegula hit 23 winners and benefited from 27 unforced errors by Azarenka. The American No. 2 outpointed her opponent 81-59. Next, Pegula will face unseeded and 58th-ranked Ann Li of the United States, who advanced with a 7-5, 6-3 win over 126th-ranked Priscilla Hon of Australia, in one hour and 45 minutes on Stadium 17, to reach her first fourth round at a major.

Also, two-time major champion Barbora Krejcikova of Czechia, now ranked 62nd, upset No. 10 seed Emma Navarro of the United States, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, in two hours and 30 minutes on the Grandstand behind 33 winners. Krejcikova converted seven of 15 break points and outpointed Navarro 105-99. Next, Krejcikova will face 139th-ranked Taylor Townsend of the United States, who upset No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva of Russia, 7-5, 6-2, in an hour and 16 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium Friday night. Townsend hit 23 winners, won 21 of 29 points at the net and converted five of 14 break points. She outpointed Andreeva 62-49.

Around the US Open

• No. 77th-ranked Adriano Mannarino of France advanced to the fourth round after his opponent, World No. 6 Ben Shelton of the United States, retired after the fourth set with an injury to his left shoulder. It was Shelton’s first retirement in his career after playing 178 professional matches.

The two-time major semifinalist Shelton won the first and third sets, 6-3, 6-4, while Mannarino prevailed in the second and fourth sets 6-3, 6-4. The lefty Shelton was visibly in pain after hitting several forehand returns during Mannarino’s final service game of the fourth set. Shelton apparently injured his shoulder during the final point of the third set after he fell on his arm while trying to track down a ball in the corner. He received treatment midway through the fourth set and tried to shorten points by attacking the net. 

“Usually, I’ll play through anything and just kind of find a way,” Shelton said during his post-match news conference. “And whether it’s sickness or injury, like, if I can stay out there, I can stay out there. I never felt anything like this before.”

The match, which was played on Louis Armstrong Stadium, ended after three hours and seven minutes of play. It was Mannarino’s first victory in 23 career matches against Top-10 opponents in Grand Slam tournaments.

Next, Mannarino will face No. 20 seed Jiri Lehecka of Czechia, who ended the run of 107th-ranked Raphael Collignon of Belgium, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, in two hours and 11 minutes on the Grandstand. Lehecka hit 39 winners and outpointed Collignon 109-88.

• Also, No. 21 seed Tomas Machac of Czechia advanced to the fourth round with a 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 over 184th-ranked French qualifier Ugo Blanchet, in one hour and 52 minutes on Stadium 17 Friday evening. Machac, who hit 39 winners and outpointed Blanchet 98-64, will face World No. 4 Taylor Fritz of the United States, who needed two hours and 58 minutes to defeat 175th-ranked Swiss qualifier Jerome Kym, 7-6 (3) 6-7 (9), 6-4, 6-4, on Louis Armstrong Stadium Friday night.

Fritz fired 20 aces and hit 55 winners overall. He took advantage of 44 unforced errors by Kym and outpointed him 136-120.

Friday’s US Open results

Saturday’s US Open order of play

By the numbers

No. 14 seed Tommy Paul‘s 7-6 (6), 6-3, 5-7, 5-7, 7-5 second-round victory over Nuno Borges was the 17th-latest finish in US Open history – ending at 1:46 a.m. Friday – and it joined the history books as the second-latest finish in the second round. 

“Definitely was happy that it was with the win and not a loss,” the American Paul said afterward. “It was a blast. It was an emotional roller coaster, for sure.”

“Quotable …”

“I’m feeling good, it was just a precaution that I asked for the physio. When he broke my serve, in the last point I felt something in the knee, but after five or six points it was gone. I just asked the physio to take care of the knee, so I had to be feeling good. I am going to talk to my team about it, but I’m feeling good.”

– World No. 2 and second seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, following his 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 victory over No. 32 seed Luciano Darderi of Italy, in which the Spaniard took a medical time out to have treatment on his right knee, ahead a set and 5-4 in the second, after landing awkwardly on his leg after a serve. Alcaraz finished with 31 winners to just 12 unforced errors against Darderi.

Next, Alcaraz will face No. 82 Arthur Rinderknech, who advanced to the fourth round of a major for the first time after defeating fellow Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2, in two hours and 39 minutes on Stadium 17. Rinderknech hit 15 aces and struck 56 winners. He outpointed the 51st-ranked Bonzi, who had won both of his first two matches in five sets, 116-97.

 

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