Germany’s tennis star Alexander Zverev fought his way into the round of 16 at the ATP Masters in Paris on Wednesday. Jan-Lennard Struff, on the other hand, lost his second round game.
The Tokyo Olympic champion, who will only play at the ATP Finals in Turin this year after the tournament in the French capital, routinely won 7:6 (7:2), 6:3 against the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor .
Zverev: 62nd win of the season
“I won in two sets, that’s the main thing for me”said Zverev on the “Sky” microphone. It was Zverev’s 62nd win this season, meaning the Hamburg native further extended his record. Nevertheless, he has “only” one tournament victory (Rome) to his credit so far in 2024. The world number three’s battery is practically empty after several injuries and illnesses, which is why on Monday he was “forced” to cancel his participation in the Davis Cup finals in Malaga at the end of November.
A few more matches are to be added, especially since Zverev is the best-placed player in the ATP rankings in his half of the tournament in Paris after industry leader Jannik Sinner was canceled due to illness (gastrointestinal virus). However, the French Open finalist initially had some trouble against Griekspoor, whom he defeated for the fourth time this year in the fourth duel: Zverev had to fend off three break points and one set point in the first round, but the 27-year-old was fully there in the tiebreak .
He maintained this form in the second set and the match was decided after 1:31 hours. In the round of 16 on Thursday, Zverev will face local hero Arthur Fils, who defeated the Hamburg native in the final of his home tournament at Rothenbaum in the summer.
Fils dismisses Struff
“It will be loud. But for me it’s a tennis match, nothing more and nothing less”said Zverev. The world number 20 from France beat Warsteiner Jan-Lennard Struff 6:3, 6:4 on Wednesday afternoon. Struff missed eight break chances in the first set.
Overall, Struff made too many simple mistakes. The Warsteiner reached the second round with a 6:4, 6:2 against Olympic bronze medalist Lorenzo Musetti, who had eliminated Alexander Zverev at the tournament in Vienna the previous week, as he had done at the Olympic Games. Last week, Struff failed in three sets against his opening hurdle Alex de Minaur (Australia) in the Austrian capital.
