Ruud dubbed 'biggest bottler in tennis' by tennis fans after crashing out of US Open to Zhizhen Zhang

Casper Ruud was caught off guard by Zhang Zhizhen in the second round of the US Open, and fans reacted to the unexpected upset.

The Norwegian's early exit in only the second match is one of the surprises in the men's main draw so far. The US Open tends to bring about the most surprises among the Grand Slams, and this time, three top-10 players, including Ruud, have already fallen in the first two rounds.

However, unlike Rune and Tsitsipas who faced the same situation, Ruud had previously displayed an impressive performance at Flushing Meadows by reaching the final in 2022 and losing to Carlos Alcaraz.

The substantial number of points he had to defend will cause him to drop at least to world No. 9, as he lost over 1000 points.

His opponent, Zhang Zhizhen, entered as world No. 67 and although he hasn't maintained consistent results, he has achieved some significant victories that have solidified his position within the top 100.

The Chinese player has defeated notable names this year, including Cameron Norrie, Denis Shapovalov, Taylor Fritz, and Lorenzo Sonego.

Nevertheless, Zhang's victory came as a surprise to fans who took to social media to criticize the Norwegian player's unexpected loss.

"Don't be surprised that Casper Ruud lost early in New York. Be surprised he found a few weeks of good form and returned to the Roland Garros final this year," one user wrote.

"Casper Ruud is the biggest bottler in tennis. I still wonder how he’s top 10. Smh,"

"How Casper Ruud played 3 grand slam finals. He just s**k."

“Another upset.. There goes the ranking drop! Guess #Ruud is going say re: tennis nobody knows what they’re talking about (if you’re not a pro player),” some user added.

Here are some other reactions about Ruud’s lose: