Alexander Zverev played in the 3rd round at the French Open in Paris. The German tennis professional showed fluctuating performances against the Dutchman Jesper de Jong.
It took over an hour for Alexander Zverev to find himself and his game. In the end, after three hours of play, he moved against the Dutchman Jesper de Jong 3: 6, 6: 1, 6: 2, 6: 3 in the third round of the French Open a. The best German tennis professional is still a long way away from its best form.
The 28-year-old experienced a variety of ups and downs in this game and made life difficult for himself more often. But: Zverev bit through the tough match and can continue to follow his dream.
Zverev: “I’m happy to be here”
His mission title win can continue. And the good news is: were almost never Grand Slam-winner already in top shape in the first week. This should give Zverev hope for an increase in performance in the next few days.
“The first sentence was not the best tennis of mine, I had problems finding the rhythm. But I had the chance to shoot the game. The next three sentences were much better. I am glad that I am in the first round”, said Zverev. “I’m happy to be here and we’ll see how far I will come.”
Zverev seemed surprised
De Jong had apparently learned from the premiere encounter with Zverev. Because a few days ago at the tournament in Hamburg a few days ago, where the German prevailed almost effortlessly (6: 2, 6: 2), Jesper de Jong acted from the first blow, powerful and also enthusiastic. The 24-year-old used the warmer weather, which gave the balls more speed and a higher jump than in the past few days.
This approach seemed to surprise Zverev and once again led the Germans to position themselves far behind the baseline and build up his game from there. The problem: Due to the longer distance, its balls lose speed. And so Zverev received in his first service game Breakwhich he ran after all over the first sentence.
Clear Performance increase
Especially since the Dutch and again and again the Dutch, which Zverev could not go all over again, because he had set up so far behind the baseline. A fact that some of his opponents have been used in the past few weeks. Then de Jong stayed stable in his service and he earned the first round with 6: 3.
In the second set, Zverev managed to change its tactics right from the start, to put them closer to the line so that they can generate more pressure and bring de Jong into difficulties. In this way, Zverev radiated significantly more stability and he immediately succeeded in breaking a break, which he could then expand into a 3-0 intermediate stand. At the same time, de Jong lost a little of his previously shown impact and play quality, which meant that Zverev was able to prevail safely and clearly with 6: 1.
Crash end first serves
The third set started again, but Zverev was the one who determined the game. His force prevailed in the fifth game, where he again achieved a break against de Jong. Zverev’s first serve was also much more constant. With the second break to 5: 2, a preliminary decision had been made, the Dutch had little to counter and Zverev confidently secured the sentence 6-2.
In the fourth set, too, the higher impact intensity and the more powerful game of Zverev prevailed from the start. Zverev finally seemed to have found his way to keep de Jong in chess. But: The German let de Jong back into the game after giving up his surcharge at 4: 1. In the end, the German remained confident and secured the fourth round with 6: 3.