China's Zhang Zhizhen celebrating after winning a match against Norway's Casper Ruud during the second round of the US Open tennis championships on Wednesday — Reuters NEW YORK, Aug 31 (AP): Casper Ruud, the 2022 US Open runner-up, was eliminated Wednesday night when Zhang Zhizhen became the first Chinese man to beat a player in the top five of the ATP rankings.
Zhang upset the No. 5 seed 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 0-6, 6-2 to reach the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the second time. It was his second five-set victory to open this tournament after he lost his first four five-setters. He wasn't discouraged by those previous losses, with the breakthrough finally coming Monday when he outlasted J.J. Wolf in 4 1/2 hours.
"Try to just keep playing and keep believing yourself every single time," Zhang said. "(Even in) tough moments, still try to believe yourself. In the end, you'll make it."
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