By Alberto Amalfi | @Tennis_Now | Thursday, August 31, 2023
NEW YORK—Green days don’t deter Alexander Zverev’s march on the blue US Open courts.
In the aftermath of Zverev’s US Open straight-sets first round win, he said cozy Court 17 smelled like rapper Snoop Dogg’s house after a chronic session.
“The whole court smells like weed,” Zverev said. “Court 17 definitely smells like Snoop Dogg’s living room.”
Marijuana is legal in New York state and both Zverev and Maria Sakkari, who fell in the first round, said they smelled the scent of ganja emanating from Flushing Meadows Corona Park outside the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
The Olympic gold-medal champion made a triumphant return to Court 17 today stopping Daniel Altmaier 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Afterward, Zverev confirmed Court 17 remains the greenest court at the US Open.
“I think it will stay the weed court for the tournament,” Zverev said.
The 12th-seeded German will play for a third consecutive trip to the Flushing Meadows fourth round when he faces fellow former No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov in round three.
“I mean, if he beats Murray in straight sets, I think he’s playing well, right?” Zverev said of Dimitrov. “That speaks for itself in a way. We’ll see how it goes. I think every tournament is different. Yes, we played last week in Cincinnati, but I’m expecting something very different here. Hopefully much better match in a way.”
Photo credit: Jeff Dean/USTA/US Open
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