Stand: 04.06.2021
Alexander Zverev celebrated a problem-free third round victory in Paris
What: REUTERS
Alexander Zverev keeps his chance for the first Grand Slam success of his career. At the French Open, the best German tennis player moves into the round of 16 without any problems.
DThanks to a solid performance, Alexander Zverev is in the second round of the French Open for the fourth time in his career. Germany’s best tennis player won 6: 2, 7: 5, 6: 2 against the Serbian Laslo Djere in Paris on Friday and was the first German professional to survive the third round at the Stade Roland Garros.
Zverev used his first match ball after 2:08 hours. He will now face Japanese Kei Nishikori on Sunday, whom he last defeated twice. Last year was for Zverev in the round of 16 against the Italian Jannik Sinner the end of the line.
“I knew that it wouldn’t be easy today and that I had to improve compared to the first two rounds,” said Zverev after the game in the winner’s interview on the pitch. “My goal is to win Grand Slam tournaments. For that I will have to improve further. “
On Saturday, a German trio has the chance to follow Zverev into the second round in Paris. The German number two Jan-Lennard Struff then gets to do with the Spanish top talent Carlos Alcaraz, veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber meets the number ten seeded Argentine Diego Schwartzman. Dominik Koepfer also plays against his great idol Roger Federer.
First set only lasted 38 minutes
Zverev got off to a perfect start on Center Court. The fact that the automatic roof over the Philippe Chatrier court had to be closed due to rain at the beginning of the match did not seem to bother the German number one. But on the contrary. Zverev immediately took the serve from his opponent twice and took the first set after just 38 minutes.
But after the easy start, Zverev apparently felt too safe. The 24-year-old allowed himself a few lack of concentration and unnecessarily fell 2-0 down. Although he took Djere’s serve again to make it 2: 3, because he then gave up his service again, the match threatened to tip over. But the German number one got the curve just in time. With a score of 3: 5, he fended off three set balls and made a total of four games in a row to 7: 5. “That was certainly a key moment,” said Zverev.
In fact, Djere’s resistance was virtually broken. The number 55 in the world pounded a ball high on the spectator stands in disappointment and received a warning for it. Zverev used the frustration phase of his opponent for a quick break and then had an easy game.
For Zverev it was the second win against Djere this year. Zverev also prevailed at the tournament in Acapulco, Mexico in March and later celebrated the title. Perhaps a good omen for Zverev, who is aiming for his first Grand Slam title in Paris.
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