Vietnamese-American tennis player almost eliminated 23rd seed at US Open

In his first appearance, Thai Son Kwiatkowski surprisingly took Mischa Zverev all the way to the fifth set, before losing with a score of 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 3-6.

The 22-year-old tennis player is currently ranked 710th in the world. But with the NCAA (American Collegiate Athletic Association) championship last May, Thai Son received a wildcard from the US Open organizing committee to go straight to the main round. Thanks to that, he became the first Vietnamese-American tennis player to compete in the main round of a Grand Slam tournament.

Thai Son Kwiatkowski almost eliminated Mischa Zverev from the US Open.

On Court 12, Thai Son received enthusiastic cheers from the home crowd and defeated his brother Zverev in the second and third sets with the same score of 6-4. In the fourth set, he continued to break first to lead 3-2, helping to improve his confidence. “At that time, I was very happy because I thought I had a big advantage, but I did not play well in the next game and lost the break,” Thai Son shared after the match.

In the deciding set, Zverev needed a fifth match point to overcome Thai Son. “I was completely disappointed because chances like that don’t come often for a guy ranked 700 like me,” added the former University of Virginia student. “The difference between winning and losing is sometimes very small. I didn’t play well enough to take the chances.”

“I had to try to make sharp passes or serve accurately at certain moments to slow down his attack. My family and coach were all there to cheer me on, and I really wanted to win as a gift for them.”

Thai Son once faced Nguyen Hoang Thien at the Orange Bowl 2011 tournament, for young players. At that time, Hoang Thien won with a score of 6-2, 3-6, 6-2. Currently, the tennis player from Ho Chi Minh City is ranked 894th in the ATP. The highest ranked Vietnamese player in the ATP at the moment is Ly Hoang Nam (ranked 467).

According to VNE