Frenchman Arthur Gea failed to convert a match point which would have seen him make history as the first lucky loser to ever reach the quarter-finals of the US Open.
Instead the 21-year-old fell in a gruelling five-set encounter with Botic van de Zandschulp, having also failed to serve out victory when he had the chance in the fourth set.
Three hours after holding match point the world No 87 was out, with van de Zandschulp battling back to win 3-6 6-7 (0-7) 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 in five hours and 13 minutes - the fourth-longest match on record in New York.
Gea had to go through qualifying as his ranking was not high enough to automatically qualify for the main draw at the time entry lists were published. He lost to Nishesh Basavareddy in the final round of qualifying but was granted a reprieve when former runner-up Casper Ruud withdrew with injury before the tournament began, taking the Norwegian's place.
Gea seized his opportunity by making the fourth round but could not get past world No 70 van de Zandschulp, although he may take some comfort in his prize money of $480,000 - more than seven times the $66,000 he had expected to earn through qualifying.
#zandschulp #match
Instead the 21-year-old fell in a gruelling five-set encounter with Botic van de Zandschulp, having also failed to serve out victory when he had the chance in the fourth set.
Three hours after holding match point the world No 87 was out, with van de Zandschulp battling back to win 3-6 6-7 (0-7) 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 in five hours and 13 minutes - the fourth-longest match on record in New York.
Gea had to go through qualifying as his ranking was not high enough to automatically qualify for the main draw at the time entry lists were published. He lost to Nishesh Basavareddy in the final round of qualifying but was granted a reprieve when former runner-up Casper Ruud withdrew with injury before the tournament began, taking the Norwegian's place.
Gea seized his opportunity by making the fourth round but could not get past world No 70 van de Zandschulp, although he may take some comfort in his prize money of $480,000 - more than seven times the $66,000 he had expected to earn through qualifying.
#zandschulp #match
1 day ago
