Australian Open: “Extremely happy”: Zverev after a weak phase in the quarter-finals

Alexander Zverev raised his fist and showed his teeth. Having overcome the first phase of weakness at the Australian Open has only made the German tennis star even more aggressive in his title mission. “I definitely want to play three more matches here,” said the world number two with a view to the planned final next Sunday: “I’m really enjoying it in Australia and want to be here as long as possible.”

In any case, he is assured of two more days on the Yarra River. Zverev moved into the quarterfinals with a 6:1, 2:6, 6:3, 6:2 against number 14 seeded Frenchman Ugo Humbert and is only three wins away from his longed-for first Grand Slam triumph. He was “extremely happy” about the victory, in which he lost his first set in the tournament.

While tournament sensation Eva “Lucky” Lys was gathering strength for the biggest match of her life on Monday against world number two Iga Swiatek, Zverev had to fight harder against Humbert than expected.

In his fourth quarter-final in Melbourne, Zverev is likely to face even more resistance on Tuesday: his next opponent is the number 12 seeded US professional Tommy Paul, who lost 6:1, 6:1, 6:1 against the Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina left an excellent impression. The statistics speak against Zverev: he lost the two previous duels with Paul on hard courts.

Becker: Zverev “completely surprised”

Zverev set the pace at the beginning in the John Cain Arena in perfect conditions for him. The Hamburger impressed with powerful service, powerful groundstrokes and soulful stops. He also scored consistently with his usually weaker forehand, which he has worked on more intensively in recent weeks. 15 winning strokes in the first set alone demonstrated the German’s dominance.

In the second round, however, Humbert showed a significantly improved return game, he took more risks with Zverev’s serve and was rewarded with the break to make it 3-2. Zverev remained calm on the outside, but his error rate increased noticeably. After the second lost service game, the 2021 Olympic champion looked at his box in perplexity. “My energy level wasn’t as high as in the first set,” Zverev said afterwards at Eurosport.

Humbert “changed his game and completely surprised Alexander Zverev,” said Eurosport expert Boris Becker. But Zverev caught himself again and after winning the break to make it 5:3 in the third set, he also raised his fist emotionally. In the fourth round he took his opponent’s serve early and converted his first match point after 2:16 hours.

With his 105th victory on the Grand Slam stage, Zverev drew level with Tommy Haas. Of all male German tennis professionals in history, only Becker (163) has more victories to his name.

Lys wants a sensation against Swiatek

Eva Lys wants to follow Zverev into the quarter-finals on Monday (9 a.m. CET/Eurosport) – but that would be a sensation. The 23-year-old, who was the first female lucky loser to ever reach the round of 16 of the Australian Open, is a complete outsider against the Pole Iga Swiatek.

“For me, there is no hotter match,” said Lys before the primetime duel in the Rod Laver Arena with one of the big tournament favorites: “That’s the reason why I play tennis. I want to compete with the best in the world. “

The Hamburger, who was actually eliminated in qualifying and subsequently moved into the main draw, wants to enjoy the biggest match of her career so far: “As long as I’m having fun on the pitch, I know that I’m a very dangerous player.”