He is Germany’s last tennis hope at the Australian Open: Alexander Zverev. And he keeps the flags higher. On Friday he moved into the round of 16.
Tennis Olympic champion Alexander Zverev has reached the round of 16 of the Australian Open for the fourth time in a row. The third in the world rankings from Hamburg won against the qualifier Radu Albot (Moldau) 6: 3, 6: 4, 6: 4 on Friday, but without really shining. Nevertheless, Zverev is still in the tournament without losing a set.
The biggest challenge so far awaits the 24-year-old in the round of 16, when he meets young star Denis Shapovalov, who is 14th. In the six duels with the 22-year-old Canadian so far, Zverev has won four times.
Annoyed but there
Zverev often seemed dissatisfied against Albot, after a strong start he kept getting into dicey situations in the second set. He had to fend off five breakballs. But as soon as it got really important, Germany’s athlete of the year was there.
After the forced departure of world number one Novak Djokovic before the start of the tournament, Zverev is one of the hottest title contenders alongside US Open winner Daniil Medvedev (Russia / No. 2) and 20-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal (Spain / No. 6). . He is the only remaining German in the individual competitions in Melbourne, all other eleven starters failed in the second round at the latest.
