In a major upset, Zhang Zhizhen, 26, defeated Casper Ruud, 24, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 0-6, 6-2 during the second round of the US Open in New York on Wednesday evening. 

Last year, Ruud enjoyed a phenomenal season when he made it to two grand slam finals; the French Openand the US Open. At Roland Garros, the Norwegian lost to Rafael Nadal, 37, and in New York to Carlos Alcaraz, 20. 

Going into the match, expectations were naturally high for the Norwegian.  But it was not to be.

Throughout his match against Ruud, it was clear that the Chinese had gotten the better of his opponent. From the first set onwards, Zhizhen was able to dominate as he kept Ruud on the defensive throughout the match.

Both players demonstrated fraying nerves throughout the match, but tensions were particularly visible during the second and third sets.

Prior to claiming Ruud’s scalp, Zhizhen was mostly unknown in the United States but is now emerging as a wild card at the US Open. 

Zhizhen’s performance last night in New York may very well be indicative of bigger and better things to come from the Chinese player.

Ruud, of course, is a solid-top 5 player but has not done particularly well this year.