The hard way into the US Open: The battle of the qualifiers

New York: Michael Zheng shifted uncomfortably on the base line of Court 13 at the US Open, an outdoor court he had played on as a boy in an elite training program. But this time there was much more at stake, with hundreds of fans crammed in on all four sides, chanting, "Let's go, Michael," for the local favorite.

Zheng, who grew up in Montville, New Jersey, and is a star player at Columbia University, was playing for the chance to qualify for one of the last spots at the US Open.

Just like 63 other players in the men's singles qualifying draw, Zheng, 20, needed to win three consecutive matches in the preliminary week of the Open to join the big boys. The 16 players who qualify gain entry into the main draw, where the likes of Carlos Alcaraz will compete for the title and a $3.6 million prize.

But standing across the net from Zheng on Tuesday was a serious opponent: Kamil Majchrzak, a 28-year-old player from Poland who was once ranked No. 75 in the world and had reached the third round of the US Open main draw in 2019. Zheng had dropped the first set and was clearly suffering from cramps.

It was already a tricky draw, but Zheng, who comes from a family of achievers, has excelled at whatever level of tennis he plays. As an 18-year-old junior, he went all the way to the final of the boys' singles at Wimbledon in 2022.

This year, he became the first Columbia player to reach the final of the NCAA singles tournament, and this month he won his first professional title in a challenger tournament (the minor leagues of tennis) in Mississippi.

He hopes to make a career out of tennis, which is only viable for about 200 players around the world at a time. The rest must fight their way in via challenger events and the qualifying rounds at major tournaments, like the US Open.

"That is the goal," Zheng said last week after a workout at Mountain Lakes High School in New Jersey. "I have the confidence to take on players at this level."

Zheng first learned the sport from his father, Joe Zheng, an immigrant from China. When Michael was about 10, he earned a coveted spot to train with elite coaches in a program run by the United States Tennis Association at the same site of the US Open.

The only problem was that the Zheng family lived in Montville, at least a two-hour commute by public transportation -- each way.

Between the ages of 11 and 13, he made the journey three days a week on public transportation. He might have looked out of place among all the busy commuters, a slight middle-schooler carrying his rackets and homework as he trudged out of the Port Authority in midtown Manhattan and down into the No. 7 train.

It was a long ride to the mostly empty site of the largest and most lucrative tennis tournament in the world. In the summer, the program shifted to Cunningham Park in Fresh Meadows, Queens, an even longer commute, and Michael would need to wake up at 5:30 am.

"It actually wasn't that bad," he said. "You get used to it."

Zheng loved the program, he said, and he never complained to his parents about the commute. How could he, knowing what they had gone through at the same ages?

Joe Zheng was born in 1969 and grew up in a small, rural village in Hubei province in China. His mother, Mei Liu, was from a neighboring village. The homes in the village did not have plumbing, Joe recalled, so they would fetch their water by bucket from the nearby Yangtze River.

After school, they would work on their family farms, harvesting rice. There was no electricity in the villages, they said, until they were in middle school.

"It's so completely different," Michael Zheng said. "I hear the stories and sometimes I'm like, 'This can't even be real.' I'm so fortunate to be in the position I'm in, thanks to them."

Joe and Mei made their way to college and graduate school in China and came to the United States in 1998, where they earned more graduate degrees and have worked as software engineers, among other tech jobs, eventually settling in New Jersey, where Joe passed on his love of tennis.

Last year, Michael won a qualifying match at the US Open, and if he could build on that and qualify this year, he would be guaranteed $152,000. That would help support the enormous bills that tennis players accrue, mainly for travel and coaching, which they pay themselves.

Joe Zheng estimated that he and his wife have spent between $300,000 and $500,000 to support their son's ambition, and many families pay a lot more. If Michael lost in the first round of qualifications this year, he would get only $25,000.

"As long as he was working hard and having fun, we were happy to support him," said Joe Zheng, who watched his son's match from the stands, cheering along with everyone else.

At one point, his son was only two points from victory. All around them on similar courts, others with long journeys and high ambitions were fighting for their dreams, too. But on Court 13, the cramping would not relent, and Michael Zheng lost a very close match, 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-5.

The crowd, which has been so vociferously in his favor, fell silent for a moment, before clapping to show their appreciation. As Zheng left the court, the sun setting behind him on the same site to which he took those long bus and subway rides alone, he paused to sign autographs.

"I was just happy to be here again playing," he said after Tuesday's match. "Just build on that and become stronger and better next year, so I can have a better run."