World number three-ranked tennis star Alexander Zverev faced a defeat against Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime in the third round of the US Open 2025, and emulated Rafael Nadal’s unwanted record through his elimination.
The US Open 2025 campaign ended quite early for world number three Alexander Zverev. The German international took on Canadaโs Felix Auger-Aliassime in the third round of the tournament, and losing to the Canadian, Zverev became the first ATP top-three-ranked player to lose in the opening week at consecutive Grand Slams since Rafael Nadal in 2005.ย
After winning in straight sets in his last two matches at the US Open, Zverev failed to put in a good show against Aliassime in the third round, losing 4-6, 7-6(7), 6-4, 6-4. The Canadian put in his best performance and booked his seat in the fourth round of the competition.ย
The US Open 2025 has been looking lively for the Canadian. It is worth noting that Aliassime has had a subpar season so far, losing in the second round or earlier in the Australian Open, Roland Garros, and Wimbledon. However, he has looked in good touch in the US Open, and he will hope to continue his momentum going forward.ย
Aliassime opens up on his performance against Zverev
Breezing past Zverev, Auger-Aliassime took centre stage and talked about his performance. He expressed how good it feels to register a win against the world number three.ย
โThis feels good. This feels good, Iโve been coming here since 2018. Iโm still young, but itโs been a few years and Iโm working my way. Some of you it might be the first time youโre watching me tonight. But this feels really good,โ Aliassime said after the game.ย
โObviously jobโs not done. The tournamentโs still going, but this means a lot to me. A lot of hard work, many years. It was a nervous start the first few games and after it was pretty crazy, pretty flawless. But still Sascha was serving unbelievably, so it was tough to get a break,โ He added.