NEW YORK — Michael Zheng was about to serve for the match in the first round of the U.S. Open qualifying tournament Tuesday evening when a chant of “Let’s go, Michael” swelled up from the capacity crowd.
“Are you for Michael?” one fan about half a dozen rows up on Court 13 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center asked another.
“Yeah, I’m from Jersey,” the second fan responded.
“I’m from Jersey, too.”
The 20-year-old Zheng, a Montville, N.J. native and former state champion from Delbarton, attracted thousands of fans to his match and came within a hair of winning. But he was broken while serving for the match in the third set and then double-faulted on match point in his 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-5 loss to Kamil Majchrzak of Poland. The 28-year-old Pole was the more experienced player, having reached the main-draw third round here in 2019. He now must win two more rounds to qualify for the main draw of the U.S. Open, which begins Monday.
“It was a pretty close match until I guess the end,” Zheng, a junior at Columbia University and the NCAA singles runner-up last spring, said outside the locker room. “I was starting to cramp up a little bit at the end. [I] couldn’t really jump on the serve anymore and he kind of just took advantage.”
Zheng had five aces against 11 double faults, including five in the decisive third set. He served for the match at 5-4 in the third but double-faulted for 5-all and then double-faulted again on match point.
“I knew [the cramps] were coming late in the third,” Zheng said. “My legs were starting to get tired and then that final game when I was jumping up on the serve I couldn’t really get up anymore.”
He thinks the bad breakfast watermelon he consumed at his hotel a few days ago likely contributed to food poisoning.
“I had some food poisoning two days ago and I think I came out a little bit dehydrated,” he said. “Everything came out before the match. I was a little bit dizzy and I got it going in the second [set] but it was tough.”
Majchrzak, ranked No. 168 in the world, was one of the toughest opponents Zheng has ever faced. Zheng is currently ranked No. 694 in the world. The best player Zheng faced before this was Kei Nishikori, a former U.S. Open finalist who reached a career-high ranking of No. 4 and beat Zheng in the straight sets in the Caribbean Open in 2023.
Despite the loss, Zheng attracted a lot of kids and young people to Tuesday’s match.
Eleven-year-old Zachary Lee came with his father Samuel Lee, a Columbia graduate, to cheer on Zheng.
“I like how he hits the ball,” said Zachary, who has been playing tennis for three years and wore a USTA summer camp shirt.
The Lees are Taiwanese-American, while Zheng is Chinese-American.
“I think there aren’t a lot of people in the ATP that look like him,” Samuel Lee said of Zheng.
A group of kids asked for selfies and autographs with Zheng after the match.
“It was amazing seeing so many players out there supporting me, kids and adults as well,” said Zheng, who lost in qualifying for the second straight year. “It’s a great experience and I hope to come back next year and build on that.”
Peter Pilling, the Columbia athletic director, was in the stands rooting for the Columbia star along with many Columbia alums.
“It’s a qualifying first-round match and it’s packed on Court 13,” he said.
“The support we have from so many alums, former tennis players here, is just a tribute to our program, it’s a tribute to Michael and the success he’s had and it’s just an outstanding component of what we’re trying to accomplish as a program.”
Zheng had hopes of a run this week and a potential spot in the main draw next week when stars like Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and American Frances Tiafoe will headline the men’s field.
But he will move forward into his college season knowing he has what it takes to compete with some of the world’s best players.
“It was a great year for sure,” he said. “A lot of ups and downs throughout the year, but finished on a high note. I was happy to be here again playing. Obviously, a tough result but it was a great experience against a great player who reached the top 100 and the third round here.
“It was a close match. I was happy with the level and just build on that.”
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Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter who covers Seton Hall and NJ college basketball for NJ Advance Media. You may follow him on Twitter @AdamZagoria and check out his Website at ZAGSBLOG.com.
