In a battle of former junior rivals, #NextGenATP stars Alexander Zverev and Borna Coric square off in a blockbuster second-round showdown on a stacked Day 3 schedule at this year’s US Open. After a near wash-out of Tuesday’s play, 30 of the 32 first-round matches planned for Tuesday were rescheduled to Wednesday, including six already in progress.

Among those returning to complete their first-round assignments is No. 6 seed Dominic Thiem. The Austrian will resume his match with Australia’s Alex de Minaur, leading 6-4, 6-1, 1-0. No. 26 seed Richard Gasquet, of France, will return to take on Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer locked at 3-6, 6-2, while home hope Donald Young will return with a 6-3, 1-6, 2-0 lead over German Maximilian Marterer.

As 16 year olds, Zverev and Coric met at the 2013 US Open in a boys’ singles semi-final, which the Croat won 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 en route to the title. Coric subsequently rose to the top of the ITF Junior Circuit rankings in September 2013, but Zverev overtook him seven weeks later and ended the year as Junior No. 1.

As 18 year olds, Coric again defeated Zverev in three sets at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Cincinnati. As 20 year olds, they return to New York City, where Zverev hopes for his first win in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry after capturing five titles already in 2017.

Zverev achieved his career-high of No. 6 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on August 21. He earned the biggest win of his career over then No. 2 Novak Djokovic to capture his maiden ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title in Rome. He defeated Roger Federer to claim a second ATP Masters 1000 title of the season at the Coupe Rogers in Montreal leading in to this year’s US Open.

Coric saved five championship points to defeat Philipp Kohlschreiber for his first ATP World Tour title at Marrakech. He followed it up with the biggest win of his career over World No. 1 Andy Murray en route to the Matua Madrid Open.

DAY THREE HIGHLIGHTS

• Coming up in the juniors with Zverev and Coric was Hyeon Chung, who rose to a career-high No. 47 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on Monday. The South Korean challenges No. 1 American John Isner on Louis Armstrong Stadium. Isner is 9-0 in US Open second-round matches and attempting to reach the third round for the ninth straight season. The 6’11” American is 14-3 overall since Wimbledon.
• Chung, Coric and 20 year old American Jared Donaldson are tied for third among #NextGenATP players with 18 wins in 2017 (Zverev 47, Khachanov 23). Like Chung and Zverev, Donaldson has a career-high ranking this week. The World No. 51 seeks his second straight third-round spot at the US Open against No. 16 seed Lucas Pouille, whom he beat in two tiebreakers at ATP Masters 1000 Montreal on August 7. Pouille defeated Marco Chiudinelli, Roberto Bautista Agut and Rafael Nadal in consecutive five-setters to reach the 2016 US Open quarter-finals.
• Rounding out the #NextGenATP quintet is 18 year old Canadian qualifier Denis Shapovalov, who faces No. 8 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Shapovalov is 5-1 in tour-level matches this month with all five wins over high-ranked opponents. He followed his dream run to the ATP Masters 1000 Montreal semi-finals with a first-round win over fellow #NextGenATP player Daniil Medvedev. The US Open is the only Grand Slam where Tsonga has not reached the semi-finals. He earned his first win since Wimbledon over Marius Copil on Monday.
• Tsonga is one of 12 seeds in second-round action, including Wimbledon finalist Marin Cilic and semi-finalist Sam Querrey. The fifth-seeded Cilic was originally scheduled for a first-round meeting with Gilles Simon, whom he is 1-5 against. But when No. 2 seed Andy Murray withdrew on Saturday, Cilic replaced him at the bottom of the draw and the 17th-seeded Querrey was moved into the spot opposite Simon. Querrey, who lost to Cilic in the Wimbledon semi-finals, eased past Simon on Monday. Cilic, meanwhile, defeated 105th-ranked American Tennys Sandgren.

Tennis writer Jon Wertheim once dubbed him “the Roger Federer of tennis research”. Now as the go-to man for all things data and stat-related in tennis media, well-known statistician king Greg Sharko has been recognised with the Bud Collins Award. 

Officially the ATP Director of Media Information, “The Shark” has been a fixture of the ATP since 1986. He has edited the yearly ATP Media Guide since 1990 and is best known for his extraordinary depth of tennis facts and stats. 

The International Tennis Writers Association honoured Sharko in New York City on Sunday night for his three decades of service to the media where he was presented with the award in Collins’ memory. Collins, who passed away in 2016, was one of the most prominent figures in the tennis media and was a long-time member of ITWA.

“I’m very honoured to be the first recipient from the ATP of the Bud Collins Awardd,” Sharko said. “To receive this award from the ITWA members means a lot to me. Bud’s contributions to our sport will always be remembered.

“I have been blessed and grateful to have been with the ATP for 31 years and I feel fortunate to have this opportunity to be part of such a great team that delivers a valuable service to our friends in the media.”

Rafael Nadal overcame a slow start to book his spot in the second round at the US Open, ousting Dusan Lajovic 7-6(6), 6-2, 6-2 in two hours and 17 minutes on Tuesday.

With rain storms putting a damper on Day Two in Flushing Meadows, the top-seeded Spaniard prevailed under the closed roof as he kicked off his 13th appearance at the hard-court Grand Slam. Nadal fired 33 winners and five aces, claiming six of 11 break chances in total. 

It was far from straightforward, but Nadal claimed the opening set 8/6 in a tie-break, before reeling of 12 of the next 16 games for an emphatic finish. With the roof closed on Arthur Ashe Stadium due to persistent rain over Flushing Meadows, Nadal battled back from a break down to claim the opener of their US Open first-round encounter.

The Spaniard conceded the first break of the match in the third game, but would draw level with Lajovic serving for the set at 5-4, claiming the break back to love. He streaked to a 4-1 lead in the ensuing tie-break and snatched the opener as a Lajovic backhand sailed long. He surged to a two-set lead with consecutive breaks early in the second and again in the third. Nadal prevailed on his first match point as a Lajovic forehand return flew long.

It was the second FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting between Nadal and Lajovic, with the Manacor native having captured a fourth-round encounter at Roland Garros in 2014.

The two-time champion (2010, ’13) is back in New York as the top seed with his sights set on a 16th Grand Slam crown, as well as retaining the No. 1 position in the Emirates ATP Rankings. Both he and Roger Federer are in contention to leave with the coveted top spot, with a potential semi-final showdown in the cards. Federer needs to reach the semis to have a chance to return to World No. 1.

Only two men’s matches will be completed on Tuesday due to the inclement weather, with Federer and Frances Tiafoe slated to conclude the night session on Ashe. All other matches, including the six that have already commenced, are postponed to Wednesday.

Sixth seed Dominic Thiem soared to a 6-4, 6-1, 1-0 advantage over Aussie teen Alex de Minaur when the skies closed. In other action, American Bjorn Fratangelo leads Ivo Karlovic 7-6(2), 2-3 and Donald Young leads Maximilian Marterer 6-3, 1-6, 2-0.