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Casper Ruud suffered a surprising exit from the 2023 US Open on Thursday, August 31, losing in the second round to China's Zhizhen Zhang. World No.67 Ruud succumbed to Zhang with a final scoreline of 4-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-0, 2-6 in a thriller that lasted for three hours and 19 minutes.
With this victory, Zhang became the first male Chinese player to defeat a top-five-ranked opponent. He will take on Australia's Rinky Hijikata in the third round on Friday, hoping to reach the Grand Slam's last 16 for the first time.
Before his victory over Ruud at Flushing Meadows, the 26-year-old had previously advanced to the third round of the French Open in June. He was defeated by the Norwegian, who had then remarkably reached the finals in three out of his last six Grand Slam tournaments.
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Tennis fans were apparently upset by Ruud's surprise defeat in the US Open and took to Twitter to express their feelings.
"Don't be surprised that Casper Ruud lost early in New York. Be surprised he found a few weeks of good form and returned to the Roland Garros final this year," one user wrote.
Another user referred to Ruud as the "biggest bottler" in tennis, unable to comprehend how he is a top 10 player.
"Casper Ruud is the biggest bottler in tennis. I still wonder how he’s top 10. Smh," the user wrote.
Another account tweeted:
"How Casper Ruud played 3 grand slam finals. He just s**k."
Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans:
Casper Ruud comments on a potential matchup between Novak Djokovic & Carlos Alcaraz at US Open 2023
Ruud appeared on Eurosport's 'Ruud Talk' segment before starting his campaign at the US Open 2023 and discussed Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz's potential meeting in the final of the New York Slam.
"Carlos and Novak, they kind of play similar tennis in a way. Just there's one thing that they do opposite. I mean, they have kind of all shots in the book. But Carlos maybe plays at a little higher speed in the way he can accelerate even more," he said.
Ruud also said that matchups between the world's current two best players would be a treat for fans for many years to come.
"It's always been a really, really good match. It's a match-up that is going to be a treat for fans and who knows for how many years," Ruud added.
