Co-favorite Alexander Zverev was already on the verge of elimination in round two of the Australian Open. But he fought back in a dramatic match.
Olympic champion Alexander Zverev only averted embarrassment at the Australian Open with great effort and thanks to strong nerves. The Hamburger survived a five-set thriller against Slovakian qualifier Lukas Klein in the second round and only won after more than four hours of play with 7:5, 3:6, 6:4, 7:6 (7:5), 7:6 (10:7).
In the hunt for his first Grand Slam title, the Hamburg native has to improve significantly; on Thursday he wobbled worryingly. “To be honest, he would have deserved the win today, but that’s how tennis is sometimes,” said Zverev after the game. At times he seems to have already thought about an exit. “I thought: There’s a Qantas flight at eleven o’clock to Dubai and then on home,” he said with a smile.
The 26-year-old hardly found his game against the furiously playing 163rd in the world rankings, and even a 1-0 set lead didn’t give him any self-confidence. There was no sign of his strong form at the start of the year on Thursday.
Zverev survives critical situation
In the fourth set, Zverev was on the verge of being eliminated. When the score was 4:4, he had to fend off a break point and escaped into the tiebreak. There too he kept his nerve and managed to equalize the set. The Hamburg native shouted his joy loudly. When Zverev took serve from the Slovakian at the beginning of the fifth round, he seemed to have the game under control.
But even in this situation, Zverev failed to take the initiative. He gave up his serve to make it 3-3. Klein had long since worked himself into a bit of a frenzy and was constantly encouraged by the spectators. The decision had to be made in the tiebreak, where Klein finally lost his nerve. “I would have preferred to win in an hour and a half, but he played incredibly well. I didn’t know what to do for a long time,” said Zverev after the marathon match.
Zverev’s appearance poses a mystery
Zverev appeared unfocused and sleepy for a long time in his second appearance at Melbourne Park this year. The 26-year-old is known for not particularly liking early starts at tournaments. Zverev also acted without energy and emotion for a long time against Klein. Zverev, who suffers from diabetes, repeatedly checked his blood sugar level during the break. Zverev didn’t really seem at his best.
Under the closed roof of the John Cain Arena, he used his first match point in the dramatic final tiebreak. In the third round, Zverev will face the American Alex Michelsen (19). At the start he had a lot of trouble in four sets against compatriot Dominik Koepfer.
The year started well for him with the triumph in the United Cup, but he is still looking for his rhythm on the Yarra River. As number six in the world, the Hamburg native is one of the favorites at the first major tournament of the year. His best result in Melbourne is reaching the semi-finals in 2020. In the afternoon Jan-Lennard Struff is fighting for a ticket to the third round, the Warsteiner meets the Serbian Miomir Kezcmanovic.
Maria is the last German to be eliminated
In the women’s category, Tatjana Maria was the last German to be eliminated from the Australian Open. The 36-year-old lost in her second round match to the 26th seeded Italian Jasmine Paolini 2:6, 3:6 and has to wait in Melbourne for the first third round of her career.
The mother of two from Bad Saulgau had prevailed in three sets against the Colombian Camila Osorio in her opening encounter, but on Thursday she had no chance for long stretches.
The day before, Tamara Korpatsch (Hamburg) and Laura Siegemund (Metzingen) had already been eliminated in the second round, for the young Ella Seidel (Hamburg) and returnee Angelique Kerber (Kiel) it was over after just one game.