Dino Prižmić Saves Two Match Points in Dramatic US Open Comeback

Dino Prižmić survived a dramatic collapse and recovery to reach the second round of the US Open. The 21-year-old Croatian defeated Kazakhstan’s Alexander Shevchenko 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 in a match lasting just under four hours.

Prižmić appeared to have the match under control after taking a 2-1 lead in sets and moving ahead 5-2 in the fourth. He served for the match at 5-3, but Shevchenko turned the contest around. The Kazakh won seven games in a row, reversed the fourth-set score to 7-5 and opened the deciding set with a break for a 2-0 lead.

Shevchenko held that advantage until 5-4, when he served for victory. Prižmić then saved two match points and won the final four games to complete the comeback.

The Croatian had struggled at the start, losing the opening set in about half an hour. Shevchenko broke early and added another break at 4-2, while Prižmić responded by taking the second set 6-3 after leading 5-1. He broke at the beginning and end of the third set, then opened the fourth with a 3-0 lead before the momentum shifted.

Prižmić will next face the winner of the match between 20th seed Tommy Paul of the United States and Coleman Wong of Hong Kong. Croatia’s Marin Čilić, the 2014 US Open champion, withdrew before the tournament because of an injury and had been drawn to face Andrey Rublev.