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Sports · US Open 2026 · Men's Singles · Round of 128
Fabian Marozsan vs Michael Zheng — 6-4 6-4 6-2
 Michael Zheng✓ | 6 | 6 | 6 |
 Fabian Marozsan | 4 | 4 | 2 |
Final · Wednesday, September 2, 2026 · Round of 128
Result
Michael Zheng's first US Open main-draw match, pushed to day four by the rain that swallowed day three, took 1hr 51min on Court 10. It was the wild card's second win over Marozsan in three weeks — he had come from a set down to beat the Hungarian in Cincinnati — and it was built on a serve the world No. 63 could not read: nine aces to three, five of the six break points he faced saved, five of eight converted at the other end. Marozsan was the looser player throughout, 27 unforced errors to 17, and won 75 points to Zheng's 95. Zheng, a two-time NCAA singles champion at Columbia who had lost in US Open qualifying three years running before this year's wild card, plays Yunchaokete Bu next. No outlet had filed a report on the match by Wednesday evening; this account rests on the official box score.
Fabian MarozsanRows the source hadn’t published are left off rather than guessed.
At this Stage
Round of 128 serves up something the first round rarely offers: a rematch with the paint still wet. Cincinnati's first round put these two on a court three weeks ago and Zheng took it; now the same matchup replays in best-of-five, at Zheng's home major, in a section whose seed — 19-year-old Jodar — awaits the winner. The stakes skew heavier for Marozsán, whose 19–21 season needs a result to arrest the slide. All 64 men's openers run Sunday through Tuesday.
What we know now
What I said beforehand
The preview, frozen before the first serve. Clearly dated, never rewritten — that's the deal that makes the pick worth anything.
Zheng, in the upset the numbers quietly endorse. These two played three weeks ago in Cincinnati and the American wildcard won it, saving the tougher moments of a 3-6 6-1 7-6(1) comeback — so this is a rematch, not a mystery, and the man who solved it last time is the one at home. Zheng's 2026 is 18–8; Marozsán's is 19–21, part of a season that has drifted since his top-40 peak. The Hungarian's ceiling remains higher — the drop shot and redirect game that once beat elite players is still in the bag — and a best-of-five rematch gives him room a third-set tiebreak did not. But home crowd, current form and the freshest possible scouting report all sit on one side.
The case for Fabian Marozsan
44% to winMarozsán's peak level is comfortably the best in this match — the touch game that has beaten top-ten players on hard courts travels to any venue, and Cincinnati's third-set tiebreak could have gone either way. Best-of-five rewards the player with more ways to win a point, and he has at least three more than Zheng. A 19–21 season means the draw finally handed him an opponent ranked below him: the pressure roles reset.
The case for Michael Zheng
56% to winZheng just beat this exact opponent, three weeks ago, on this exact surface — and did it the hard way, from a set down. The wildcard is 18–8 in 2026, playing his home Slam with a crowd, and his flat, early-contact returning is precisely what broke Marozsán's rhythm in Cincinnati. Nothing about that matchup logic changes in New York except the noise level, which helps him.
Both cases written 2026-08-28, before the first ball — frozen into the record exactly as written, whatever the result. The percentages are mine — opinions with a percent sign on. They add to 100 because tennis has no draw to hide the rounding in.
My locked pick: Michael Zheng to advance ✓ RIGHT
“He beat this opponent three weeks ago on this surface, holds the form edge, and plays this one at home.”
Locked 2026-08-28 02:35 UTC — rendered verbatim from the pick ledger; never a fresher, hedged version
Tale of the tape
Fabian MarozsanMichael ZhengPlayer vitals: US Open official player feed (usopen.org) and Tennis Abstract career match logs · as of 2026-08-28.
Career head-to-head: Tennis Abstract career match logs (tour-level) · as of 2026-08-27.
Storylines
- This is an immediate rematch: Zheng beat Marozsán 3-6 6-1 7-6(1) in the Cincinnati first round three weeks ago — the only prior meeting.
- Zheng, a wildcard, gets the winner's prize of a Round of 64 date with either the draw's youngest seed, 19-year-old Rafael Jodar, or veteran Thanasi Kokkinakis.
- Marozsán has slipped to a 19–21 season after starting the year inside the top 40 — first-round exits at majors are how slides become falls.
Head to head
Zheng leads 1–0 from the freshest possible sample: Cincinnati, earlier this month, 3-6 6-1 7-6(1) from a set down. Marozsán won the first set playing his game; the next two belonged to Zheng's return.
Source: Tennis Abstract career match logs (tour-level) · as of 2026-08-27.
Court & schedule: Court 10, Wednesday 2 September. The US Open posts each day's order of play the evening before; this one is on the board. (Official US Open order of play, as of 2026-09-02)
Weather: Sunday — the men's final, and the last match of the fortnight — was forecast at 78°F with showers and thunderstorms 95% likely, the wettest day of the two weeks and the one day that could not be pushed back. The rain came in the morning and stopped before the final, which Ashe played with its roof open. It cleared from there: 15% overnight, 15% Monday, then dry and sunny. (National Weather Service New York forecast, as of 2026-09-13)
Venue: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Flushing Meadows, New York — hard.