Zverev survives five-set thriller
Agencies
PARIS: Alexander Zverev overcame a woeful start to reach the third round of the French Open, saving a match point in a 2-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 7-5 victory over up-and-coming Argentine Sebastian Baez on Wednesday.
The German third seed survived a late fightback from the world number 36 and screamed his lungs out when Baez sent a forehand wide on match point.
It was the fifth year in a row that Zverev, who achieved his best result at Roland Garros when he reached the semi-finals last year, had to go through a five-setter in one of the opening two rounds. “I lost a US Open final being two sets up and I’ve learned from it. He’s unbelievable and he’s got a bright future ahead of him,” Zverev said of his opponent, who won his maiden ATP title in Estoril earlier this month. “I just tried to fight. You have to win these kind of matches, when you’re not playing well because you can’t always play well.”
Zverev looked out of sorts in the opening set, allowing his opponent to race to a 5-1 lead practically unchallenged on a windswept court Philippe Chatrier. He fell 4-0 down in the second before starting to find his range and while it was not enough to save the set, the German carried the momentum into the third.
Clicking into top gear, Zverev went 3-0 up and won five games in a row to open a 2-0 lead in the fourth set, which he won comfortably. The 21-year-old Baez looked completely overwhelmed, but then fought tooth and nail to break for 4-2 in the decider as Zverev’s unforced errors crept up again. The German broke straight back with a backhand winner down the line but faced a match point at 5-4, which he saved with a big first serve. Zverev then broke for 6-5 as Baez fired a backhand wide and he played a solid last game to set up a third-round encounter with American Brandon Nakashima or Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor.
World No 1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic eased into the third round defeating the new pupil of his former long-time coach. Top seed Djokovic saw off Slovakia’s Alex Molcan, who is coached by Marian Vajda, the man who inspired most of his 20 Slam titles, 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4). Djokovic fired 10 aces and 40 winners past his 38th-ranked opponent and will next face Slovenia’s Aljaz Bedene for a place in the last 16. “It was a real pleasure to play on Court Suzanne Lenglen. I don’t have a lot of opportunities to play here,” said the 35-year-old.
Former Grand Slam champions Angelique Kerber and Victoria Azarenka advanced to the third round. Kerber, who won her first clay title in six years on the eve of the French Open, defeated French wildcard and 2020 junior champion Elsa Jacquemot 6-1, 7-6 (7/2) as she seeks the only Grand Slam missing from her collection. The German 21st seed next plays Aliaksandra Sasnovich, the Belarusian who knocked out US Open champion Emma Raducanu 3-6, 6-1, 6-1. “I think the last week was really important for me to get the title,” former number one Kerber said of her Strasbourg triumph.
“I had a lot of confidence. It’s great to be back here and I hope I can still play a few more matches. “When you achieve everything you want, you play for the love of the game. I just love the sport. Let’s see how long I can keep playing at a high level.”
Azarenka, a two-time Australian Open winner, beat 2014 Roland Garros semi-finalist Andrea Petkovic 6-1, 7-6 (7/3). She meets Swiss 23rd seed Jil Teichmann for a place in the fourth round.
Ramkumar in 2nd round
India’s Ramkumar Ramanathan recorded his first ever main draw win at a Grand Slam as he combined with American Hunter Reese to beat the German pair Daniel Altmaier and Oscar Otte 7-6(4), 6-3 in their opening round.