ZVEREV STRUGGLES IN WIN VS QUALIFIER KING

NEWYORK: Alexander Zverev battled into the early hours of Tuesday to defeat a surprisingly troublesome Darian King 7-6(9), 7-5, 6-4 at the US Open.

The fourth-seeded German got all he could handle in the first set from the little-known 25-year-old, who made it through qualifiers to become the first player from Barbados to compete in a grand slam.

Dressed in knee-high socks and striped headband that recalled a 1970’s-era Bjorn Borg, Zverev looked out of sync early in the match, the booming serve that helped bring him five titles this year lacking its usual punch.

The German was uncharacteristically wasteful in a one hour, 21 minute first set, committing 31 unforced errors, before going on to draw first blood.

“Obviously Darian came out playing really good tennis and I couldn’t find my rhythm,” he said on court after he finished the nearly three hour match with an overhead smash. “It was an entertaining first set.” Croatia’s Marin Cilic won his first match since his emotional defeat in the Wimbledon final, besting American Tennys Sandgren 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the second round.

PLISKOVA OUSTS LINETTE

World number one Karolina Pliskova eased into the US Open second round with a no-nonsense 6-2, 6-1 victory over Poland’s Magda Linette as rain began to fall at Flushing Meadows on Tuesday.

The Czech, who will next face Paraguay’s Veronica Cepede Royg or American qualifier Nicole Gibbs, outclassed her 72nd-ranked opponent after the roof on Arthur Ashe was closed just before the second set.