The US Open was a wholly unpredictable competition, particularly on the men’s side, as few could have possibly foreseen who would advance as far as they did.
However, once Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic had exited early, it really did become anyone’s game.
That is what makes it all the more frustrating that Alexander Zverev, the fourth seed, could not take any advantage at all.
Justine Henin has been particularly damning when combing back through the campaign.
Justine Henin reacts to Alexander Zverev’s US Open campaign
Speaking to Eurosport, the former world number one pulled no punches in her assessment of Zverev’s campaign.
She would boldly claim: ‘Zverev is a disappointment. There were expectations. For me, it’s mainly the manner. I found him extremely defensive.
‘At one point, you say to yourself that to win a Grand Slam, and he came close to doing it at Roland Garros and at the same time so far, he has to dare even more.
‘Against Fritz, I saw him fall back into his old ways. I think there are strong decisions to make to win a Grand Slam tournament, particularly on calendar issues. It was his 73rd match [of the season]!
‘He can highlight his backhand that let him down, but for me, it goes further than that. And at some point, you have to save yourself and find your peak form, Djokovic is the master in this area.
‘There are a lot of things that Zverev has to work on, even if he has come back after his serious injury and he is very consistent — he will be second in the world.
‘But at the same time, he had a golden opportunity here to at least reach the final and he couldn’t take it, so it’s a big disappointment.’
Zverev was left speechless after his US Open loss to Fritz, furious as one of his shots completely broke down.
Alexander Zverev is surely building towards a Grand Slam title
At the US Open, we arguably saw a Grand Slam blown as wide open as recent memory can recall.
When browsing through the quarter-finals, just five of the top ten had made it that far, and then Sinner was the only one left standing after that.
The semi-finals boasted the 25th seed Jack Draper, to play the Italian, whilst an all-American clash of Fritz and Frances Tiafoe, the 12th and 20th seeds respectively, would make up the other finalist.
This event was certainly there for the taking, but in the end, the world number one was imperious.
Zverev, therefore, did miss a huge opportunity to put himself in the position to threaten him, but should take solace in a solid showing across all four Grand Slams this year.
A semi-final, a final, the fourth round and the quarter-final in New York is nothing to be ignored, and it does feel like he is building towards a title.
And, with the field widening too, as Novak Djokovic’s monopoly wanes, surely he will snag one before his career concludes.
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