Tennis Safe victory: Zverev plays for Wimbledon round of 16
In the third round at Wimbledon: Alexander Zverev. Photo
© Mosa’ab Elshamy/AP/dpa
Alexander Zverev confirmed at Wimbledon that he now feels comfortable on grass. Now he faces an opponent who suits him.
With an impressive victory, Olympic tennis champion Alexander Zverev has moved into the third round at Wimbledon. The French Open finalist gave the American Marcos Giron no chance in the grass court classic on London’s Church Road. The score was 6:2, 6:1, 6:4 after a relatively one-sided match on the second largest Wimbledon court. “I felt very comfortable on the court,” said Zverev. He was happy to have finished the match in three sets.
Zverev meets favourite opponent
This means that Zverev, like Jan-Lennard Struff, is the second German with a chance of reaching the round of 16. While the Sauerland native needs a coup against top Russian player Daniil Medvedev on Friday to make it into the last 16, Zverev faces another solvable challenge against one of his favorite opponents. On Saturday, the world number four will face Briton Cameron Norrie, against whom he has won all five matches so far. “I’m sorry, I have to break your hearts – or I hope I will,” he said mischievously to the audience.
However, the Hamburg native only advanced to the Australian Open at the start of the season with a win in the tiebreak of the fifth set against Norrie. In addition, Zverev’s upcoming opponent impressed in the second round of Wimbledon, where he defeated fellow countryman and Stuttgart winner Jack Draper in three sets.
Zverev against Giron fully concentrated from the start
Zverev failed in the third round of what is probably the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world a year ago. Wimbledon is his weakest of the four Grand Slam tournaments. In his second appearance at the 137th edition of Wimbledon, the top German player appeared fully focused from the start. It is not everyday that the first seven points all went to him. He chased world number 46 Giron across the grass. The first break was achieved after the first game, the second followed to make it 5:2.
Two days after his clear opening victory, the 27-year-old served so uncompromisingly that the American often didn’t even get into the rallies. In the second round, Zverev didn’t give his opponent a chance either. Only the third round was more evenly balanced. After his weaker Wimbledon appearances in recent years, the Hamburg native has decided to amaze and shake off his antipathy towards grass tennis. And he confirmed his intention to appear like a title contender this year.
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