Tennis: Zverev starts successfully in Australia’s title mission

Alexander Zverev pulled the red hairband off his head and smiled contentedly. On a rainy opening day of the Australian Open, the German tennis star started his title mission with a confident victory and saved a few energy.

The world number two won against Frenchman Lucas Pouille 6:4, 6:4, 6:4 and reached the second round of the Grand Slam tournament in Melbourne for the ninth time in a row. The Hamburg native is also the clear favorite in the duel with Pedro Martinez from Spain. “I actually thought it was a relatively solid match,” said Zverev on the TV channel Eurosport.

Storms disrupt the schedule

While Zverev was protected from the external conditions in the Rod Laver Arena, two German players were slowed down by the storm over Melbourne. Only after a six and a half hour rain interruption did Tatjana Maria win against the American Bernarda Pera 7:6 (7:3), 6:4. In the second round, the oldest player in the main draw, aged 37, will face Denmark’s Clara Tauson.

Dortmund’s Jule Niemeier’s match against Poland’s Maja Chwalinska was canceled and will be rescheduled for Monday. The game plan was severely disrupted by the thunderstorm and heavy rain. The decision to start the tournament on Sunday again, like last year, and thus to extend the first round over three days, has already paid off.

Zverev was in control of the situation right from the start

Unlike often in the past in first round matches, Zverev immediately found his way into the tournament. The 2021 Olympic champion served as strong as usual, but he secured the first set with a forehand winner. The Hamburger’s return game was also dangerous, so he was able to repeatedly create break chances against the wild card holder. The lack of exploitation was tennis idol Becker’s only point of criticism, otherwise he judged as an expert at Eurosport: “Everything was actually good.”

Coach and father Alexander Zverev Senior and brother Mischa Zverev, who have moved even closer to the action thanks to the new box in the corner of the court, hardly had to take any corrective action from outside. However, Zverev missed too many break chances in the second and third sets, which visibly annoyed him at times. After 2:21 hours, he converted his second match point with his 18th ace against Pouille, who had reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open in 2019.

Injections for arm injuries

Zverev looked physically fit. The biceps injury that had forced him out of the quarter-finals of the United Cup a week and a half ago no longer seemed to be bothering him. “I had an injection after the United Cup,” said Zverev at Eurosport: “I hope it will last for the next two weeks.”

Zverev is also playing in Melbourne with a new racket with which he can act even more powerfully. “The reason behind it is that the tennis balls have become so incredibly slow and that you no longer need control with your tennis racket, you need power,” explained Zverev. He had already switched to the new racket last fall.

Zverev is also setting an example with such changes. As number two in the world, he “of course wants to win Grand Slams” and “become number 1 in the world. These are all dreams that I still want to fulfill. I hope that I can do it this year.” He has already managed to get started.