Germany’s best tennis professional Alexander Zverev didn’t start well in the quarter-finals in Vienna and was then unable to make up for an early break in the third set. Things continue for him in Paris.
Alexander Zverev was eliminated after a botched start in the quarter-finals in Vienna against his tennis friend Andrej Rublev.
The 2021 Tokyo Olympic champion lost the duel with the Russian fifth in the world rankings 1:6, 7:6 (7:5), 3:6. After two and a half hours, the 26-year-old from Hamburg suffered a defeat against Rublev in the third match this year and had to congratulate his opponent on reaching the semi-finals. Two years ago, Zverev celebrated winning the tournament in Vienna.
Despite the defeat, Zverev is currently in a decent starting position as seventh for his desired participation in the ATP Finals, the end of the season for the best eight professionals of the year. The ATP Finals in Turin start on November 12th. The last free places will be awarded next week at the Masters 1000 tournament in Paris-Bercy.
Zverev concedes two breaks in the first set
Zverev, tenth in the world rankings, did not get off to a good start against Rublev, who is the same age and has secured his qualification for Turin, and repeatedly came under heavy pressure in the baseline duels. The German number one initially couldn’t find a solution against the power of the Russian who had strong returns and conceded two breaks to 1:3 and 1:5.
In the second round, Zverev smashed his racket onto the hall floor when a backhand went too long at 2-2. A little later he had to fend off another breakball, but remained in the lead. Zverev came into the game much better. In the tiebreak he turned a 0:3 deficit into a 7:5. However, the set equalization did not give Zverev any security. He immediately lost his serve again and was quickly significantly behind.
At 1:4, Zverev took out his frustration on his racket again. He fought, but couldn’t take advantage of his chances to make the good match exciting again in the end.
Source: Stern
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