Dhe evening program ended well before midnight, because he was in a hurry, especially at the end. Alexander Zverev needed no more than two hours on Wednesday to win the second round against the Australian John Millman (6: 4, 6: 4, 6: 0), and he rightly thought that was an increase compared to round one.
Even after this victory, he allowed himself a short training session. It’s important to go to bed with a good feeling, he said, and the small, late shift contributes to that good feeling.
Now against Radu Albot from Moldova
During the day he had also taken a look at the games of his German colleagues, primarily Yannick Hanfmann’s game against Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard had the matter under control, but Hanfmann didn’t have to blame himself for not trying everything. For him, the game felt closer than the result would have you believe (2: 6, 3: 6, 4: 6), he said and was right.
Since Dominic Koepfer and Oscar Otte also lost before Hanfmann, at the end of the third day at the Australian Open only two of the initially twelve German players were still there: Zverev, for whom Radu Albot from Moldova will continue on Friday, and Philipp Kohlschreiber , who plays against the Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut on Thursday night.
Zverev’s previous experience with Albot comes from a time when he often ended up in five-set games at Grand Slam tournaments. Now he takes less time. Sascha played well,” said Eurosport expert Boris Becker, but still warned: “It’s far from over.”
Only in the quarterfinals could Zverev face the Spanish world-class player Rafael Nadal, against whom the Karlsruhe qualifier Hanfmann lost 2: 6, 3: 6, 4: 6. “I asked Sascha how I’m going to hit him now to get him out of the way. That didn’t work, Sascha has to do it himself,” said number 126 in the world and classified his ATP Cup teammate as “a bit favoured” for this possible duel.
In view of his defeat, Hanfmann said he needed some distance to be proud of his courageous performance. Nadal, the 20-time Grand Slam tournament winner from Mallorca, said goodbye to him with encouraging praise: “I know he’s dangerous,” said the Spaniard Hanfmann: “I think his tennis level was much higher than his today Ranking Position.”
Koepfer and Otte say goodbye
Koepfer and Otte were also knocked out in the second round. The Black Forest Davis Cup player Koepfer lost against the favored American Reilly Opelka in three sets with 4: 6, 3: 6, 6: 7 (4: 7). US Open round of 16 Otte was unable to repeat his success from New York and lost 6:2, 2:6, 3:6 1:6 to Italian Lorenzo Sonego, who was 25th. At the US Open last year, the Cologne native defeated Sonego in the first round and then surprised as a qualifier with the round of 16.
In doubles, the duo Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies meanwhile experienced a successful Grand Slam return. Thanks to a 7: 6 (9: 7), 6: 3 against the Mexican Santiago Gonzalez and Andres Molteni from Argentina, the two-time French Open winners moved into the second round. Krawietz/Mies made their comeback on the ATP tour last week in Sydney, where they reached the semifinals in their first tournament together in more than a year.
“I’ve missed him from time to time,” said Mies with a smile. At the beginning of last year, the man from Cologne had an operation on his knee for severe cartilage damage and then had to take a break for months.
“I think that the break, as stupid as it was, maybe didn’t do so badly,” said Mies: “Sometimes it’s like in a relationship. Sometimes you don’t really know what you have in the other person anymore and take it for granted. That wasn’t really the case for us. But that year it became clear to me again what a great partnership we have.”
The Australian world number one Ashleigh Barty only needed 52 minutes for her entry into the third round. The favorite finished off Italian qualifier Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 6-1. In Melbourne, Barty carries hopes of becoming the first Australian tennis player since Chris O’Neil in 1978 to win the Australian Open.
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