More than four hours of work in the sweltering heat clearly took its toll Wednesday on Tomas Martin Etcheverry, who advanced at the U.S. Open despite puking on the court in the fifth set.
Etcheverry defeated fellow Argentine Francisco Cerundolo — 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 — on Court 17 to advance to the third round at Flushing Meadows for the first time.
With temperatures soaring above 90 degrees, the 25-year-old Etcheverry lost his cookies behind the baseline while leading 4-1 in the decisive set.
“It was tough out there, just the heat, and everything,” Etcheverry said afterward. “But I needed just two more games, and I focused on that.
“Four hours of battle, it was so hot outside, even for the people in the stands. … If you saw the match in the last set, it’s no wondering what happened. But ‘keep going,’ that’s all that I thought.”
Indeed, Etcheverry recovered quickly and closed out the match with two service holds, to set up a third-round meeting Friday with No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev, who won in straight sets Wednesday over Alexandre Muller.
The 6-foot-5 Etcheverry also reached the third round at the Australian Open and the French Open earlier this year, and he lost to Zverev in four sets in the quarters at Roland Garros in 2023.
“Yeah, I played him one time before at the French Open last year, and it was a quarterfinal match and I thought he was playing the best tennis of his life back then,” Zverev said. “He’s a young player, he’s very aggressive, very tall, and somebody who moves very good for his size.
“I’m expecting a tough match, for sure. I hope I can still improve my game, I can still make myself play better and better every match, and we’ll see how it will be after [Thursday].”
Etcheverry said he took a long ice bath following Wednesday’s victory, and he planned “to go to sleep early” before returning to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center to “hit a little bit” in a Thursday practice session.
“Friday will be another battle that I need to be ready, and I want to play well against Alexander,” Etcheverry said. “I played him at Roland Garros last year, and it was trouble.
“Of course, it’s a different match, a different surface. But I am confident that I’m playing at a good level, and I want to play against him again. Let’s see, I know he is favored, but I am improving a lot and want to face him and see.”
