The fifth seed, Casper Ruud was in for a shock upset as he was defeated by China’s Zhang Zhizhen in the US Open on Wednesday which makes him the first man from China to defeat a top-five ranked player.

The 26-year-old from Shanghai is currently ranked 67th in the world and produced the match of his life to defeat the finalist of the previous edition of the US Open, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 0-6, 6-2.

Zhang’s victory was the first time any male Chinese player has beaten a player ranked in the world’s top five.

Zhang will face Australia’s Rinky Hijikata in the third round on Friday, bidding to reach the last 16 of a Grand Slam for the first time.

Wednesday’s turnaround was in stark contrast to Zhang’s campaign in last year’s tournament where he was bundled out in the first round after his career was effectively shut down by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“First of all, with the Covid situation, it’s tough to get outside. Then everything is tough," Zhang said.

“I don’t think (at) that moment we believed we can make this result. That moment I would say we are more thinking like try to break top hundred, that’s our goal, the goal you have step by step."