Alexander Zverev passes the first test on his return to the French Open. Almost a year after his serious injury, however, not everything is running smoothly.
Almost two hours after his bumpy but successful return to the French Open, Alexander Zverev threw his fist in the air again. The question about the NBA finals of the Miami Heat made the Olympic tennis champion cheer. After his first game at the Stade Roland Garros since the severe ankle injury last year, the 26-year-old enthused “extremely happy” about the success of his all-time favorite basketball team. The successful second round entry rounded off the successful sporting day completely.
“I usually play five sets in the first round at the French Open, so I’m happy to have won in three,” said Zverev after the 7: 6 (8: 6), 7: 6 (7: 0), 6 :1 against Lloyd Harris. In the first two rounds he had some trouble, but in the end after 2:43 hours and injury problems of the South African he reached the second round confidently. There Zverev meets the Slovak Alex Molcan, but has to improve significantly despite his renewed role as a favourite.
“It’s very, very nice to be back,” said Zverev in an interview on the pitch. “It was great fun out there.” However, he was not satisfied with his game. In the evening, however, he was confident again about the near future: “Six wins in the next two weeks would be nice,” he said with a wink – this would mean his first Grand Slam triumph.
A major opponent on the way there failed early on Tuesday: World number two Daniil Medvedev from Russia – a possible quarter-final opponent for Zverev – surprisingly lost five sets against Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild.
Hanfmann also makes it to the second round
As the fourth German tennis professional after Zverev, Daniel Altmaier and Anna-Lena Friedsam, Yannick Hanfmann made it into the second round late in the evening. The 31-year-old from Karlsruhe defeated the Brazilian Thiago Monteiro thanks to a strong fighting performance 6: 3, 7: 5, 6: 7 (6: 8), 6: 7 (2: 7), 6: 4 and is only the second time in his career in a Grand Slam in the top 64. Now it’s against the Australian Francisco Cerundolo.
Zverev had no fear of contact with the Roland Garros facility, which Boris Becker described as a “place of horror” for him in view of the accident last year. Already after the second set, the former world number two used a break in treatment for the opponent for a small show, much to the delight of the spectators. He bounced the ball on his racket frame several times and had to smile.
“The spectators are happy that he’s back with us and has won – that’s the most important headline,” said Eurosport expert Becker. “It was to be expected that he wasn’t at his best yet. I really liked his serve and his physique. He looked very fresh – even after two and a half hours.” Before Zverev, Daniel Altmaier and Anna-Lena Friedsam had also reached the second round.
Zverev had a bad ankle twist last year
361 days ago, Zverev suffered a bad ankle injury in the semifinals of the classic clay court against Spaniard Rafael Nadal and was out for more than half a year with multiple torn ligaments. Since his comeback at the end of last year, the Hamburg player has been looking for his old form and has not yet been able to win again against a top professional.
Also against the world number 294. Zverev missed consistency and security in gusty winds for a long time – only as the game went on did he dominate more and more. For Zverev it was the fourth win in the fourth duel with the 26-year-old South African.
Wearing a white cap, his father Alexander Zverev senior sat in the front row and cheered on as a trainer. This month the Hamburg player separated from the Spaniard Sergi Bruguera after “differences of opinion” in the direction, Zverev wishes for more courage in his own game. He wants to “prove relatively promptly” to critics like Becker and Michael Stich that he can play at the top again.
Strong service rate, many unnecessary mistakes
Initially, however, the appearance on the Simonne-Mathieu court in the far west of the Stade Roland Garros was still characterized by some uncertainties. Zverev served with a strong quota, but still allowed himself plenty of unnecessary mistakes, especially in long rallies. In the second game he slipped slightly when the opponent stopped and had to support himself with his hand on the red ash.
When the score was 5: 5, Zverev fended off two breakballs. When the wailing of sirens blew from the surrounding streets on the Bois de Boulogne to the arena in the tie-break, Zverev thundered an overhead ball far out. A short time later, however, after 68 minutes he used the third set ball due to an opponent’s forehand error.
Harris was also absent for a long time last year due to an operation on his wrist and has to fight his way up the world rankings again. In his entire ATP career, the 26-year-old has only won six games on clay. But Zverev continued to struggle and was unable to put too much pressure on the South African when he served.
It was an emotional up and down. After fending off two set balls and making his first break, Zverev gave up his serve to zero with a 6: 5 lead. But Harris was struggling more and more with calf problems, so that Zverev secured the tie-breaker without the opponent gaining a point. Harris’ resistance was completely broken in the third set.
Source: Stern
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