In the hunt for his first Grand Slam title, Alexander Zverev met Pedro Martínez. A duel that quickly revealed the differences.
Alexander Zverev has taken the next step towards his first Grand Slam title. Germany’s tennis star has reached the third round of the Australian Open. The 27-year-old beat Spaniard Pedro Martínez 6:1, 6:4, 6:1 in Melbourne and will now face Briton Jacob Fearnley on Friday.
Zverev, who reached the semi-finals last year, survived the second round of the first major tournament of the year for the eighth time. The Hamburg native is aiming for his debut title at a Grand Slam tournament in his 36th attempt.
3rd set, 6:1 – And that was it. The match is over. With the score at 30:15, Zverev shines with his forehand and a volley. The German only needs one of two match points. Martínez misses the longline and sends Zverev into the next round of the Australian Open.
3rd set, 5:1 – The match is now bubbling along. The first spectators have left the Rod Laver Arena. Zverev repeatedly scores points with volleys in his serve game. Now he is about to move into the next round of the Australian Open.
3rd set, 4:1 – Martínez counters a smash from Zverev – but has to admit defeat to the following smash. The German lets the Spaniard get to 40:30 and then makes the break perfect.
3rd set, 3:1 – First backhand, then longline: A double fault from Martínez gives Zverev a good start in the game. The German continues to excel and ends his next game with an ace.
3rd set, 2:1 – Martínez serves again. Zverev shows a good forehand for a long time, but then plays the ball into the net. As a result, the Spaniard increases the pressure, also shows a good forehand and forces Zverev to make the next mistake. This means the first game win in the 3rd set for Martínez.
3rd set, 2:0 – An ace brings Zverev the next game win. Martínez, on the other hand, gets his second clean sheet. Where has the Spaniard’s fighting spirit gone?
3rd set, 1:0 – With a two-set lead and a tailwind, the German plays well and quickly leads by two points. Martínez is a fighter, but has to finish the game.
2nd set, 6:4 – And the second movement also goes to Germany. Although Martínez was able to counterattack much better, Zverev’s shots were too clever: he used his second set point with a good serve, which the Spaniard had difficulty returning. But the ball ended up out of bounds – which Zverev had previously assessed correctly.
2nd set, 5:4 – Martínez now has an easy time. The 2020 Olympic champion is only holding up against this to a limited extent, at least he managed his fifth ace in total. Is he already further along in his thoughts? Apparently. Martinez shortens again.
2nd set, 5:3 – Zverev missed playing through his serve to zero. Also because it needs two second servers. When it came down to it, he duped Martínez with a backhand stop. Next game win.
2nd set, 4:3 – Both players seem to be focusing on their own serve game. Martínez made a mistake, only to confidently reduce the score to 3:4 from his point of view.
2nd set, 4:2 – Yes. Zverev’s superiority from the first set has now shrunk. But the German makes impressive use of his opponent’s mistakes and wins the next game. By the way, Zverev played his third ace.
2nd set, 3:2 – That was bitter. When Zverev lobs him, Martínez goes for a smash, but the ball ends up in the net. The German takes advantage of the mistake, continues to play powerful returns and secures the next break. Will he also manage to win the next game?
2nd set, 2:2 – Zverev is now increasing the pressure again. When Martínez already seems to be beaten, the German’s forehand longline goes just out of bounds. Then he shines with a volley. Zverev shortened the score to 2:2.