Alexander Zverev remains on track in his pursuit of a first career Grand Slam title at the US Open. The German advanced to the third round with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win over Britain’s Jacob Fearnley, but the 24-year-old didn’t leave New York without aiming a parting jab at the World No. 3.
Fearnley appeared frustrated after being forced to wait some extra minutes for Zverev before beginning his warm-up — a tactic the Brit suggested the German has used before.
In his post-match press conference, Fearnley added that such delays are not uncommon from top players, recalling similar experiences against Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon and again with Zverev earlier this year at the Australian Open.
“I kind of expected it,” Fearnley admitted. “I mean, it was the same [against Zverev] in Australia, and he kind of is always like, ‘I’m sorry about that’, but he knows what he’s doing. It was the same with Novak in Wimbledon. They take their time, which is, I don’t know if it’s within the rules or not”.
Before entering Arthur Ashe Stadium, players are required to line up in a tunnel leading onto the court. Fearnley immediately reported when his name was called, but Zverev only appeared after being called three separate times.
“I don’t really know what the rule is, I just don’t. But … If they call me, I show up, because I don’t know necessarily what’s going to happen. But no, he’s well within his right to take his time. I kind of expected it. My coach expected it. Every time I played him, he kind of did the same,” he added.
Fearnley on the atmosphere
The matchup between Fearnley and Zverev took place at Louis Armstrong Stadium, the second-largest venue at the US Open behind Arthur Ashe. The British player admitted he was caught off guard by the atmosphere, noting he had never competed in front of that much noise before in his career.
Still, Fearnley refused to use it as an excuse, saying he simply needs to adjust to the environment despite tennis traditionally being played in near silence. “I hadn’t played on a court with that much noise before – it caught me by surprise,” Fearnley explained.
“I wasn’t angry, I just didn’t expect it. Now I know and I can deal with it. Alex didn’t look that stressed about it. It’s not a problem, it creates a cool atmosphere. I just have to get used to it because tennis usually [is] played in silence – but there it is always constant background noise,” he added.