8:08 p.m
Zverev – Norrie 4:1
Then Norrie also makes the first double fault of the match. This is how the 28-year-old gives his service. And Zverev is on the way to winning the set with the double break.
8:06 p.m
Zverev – Norrie 3:1
For the first time in this match it’s about a debut. Then Norrie is too short, Zverev steps into the field and sets his backhand precisely. This means the second break ball.
8:04 p.m
Zverev – Norrie 3:1
Norrie still has to fight harder for his service. Although Zverev can try something with the break behind him, if the speed really gets going, things look bad for the Brit.
20:02
Zverev – Norrie 3:1
Zverev once again doesn’t let anything go wrong overhead. Shortly afterwards three game balls are ready. The Olympic champion doesn’t hesitate much longer, finishes with zero and still has 100 percent first serves.
8:01 p.m
Zverev – Norrie 2:1
Now it’s Zverev’s turn again. So far all six first serves have come. Things continue promisingly with the second ace.
19:59
Zverev – Norrie 2:1
But then Norrie gets two balls. The net also initially stands in the way of him and his backhand. The left-hander took advantage of his second chance a little later – with his first ace.
19:57
Zverev – Norrie 2:0
Not everything is working out for Zverev yet. Once again a forehand goes too long for him. Shortly afterwards, the cross-played backhand fits even better – a sparkling clean winner.
7:55 p.m
Zverev – Norrie 2:0
After the first ace, two game balls are quickly available. Then Zverev rolls a forehand to the edge of the net. After the next strong first, the Hamburger went to work decisively at the net and made the game 2-0.
19:54
Zverev – Norrie 1:0
Zverev serves well, reliably brings first – now at 218 kilometers per hour. Norrie can’t do much in return.
19:53
Zverev – Norrie 1:0
Courageous plays well, goes to work courageously, looks for the way forward. Zverev is very much on the defensive and is digging things up. And then the German manages to get out of the precarious situation with a magical backhand longline. This is the early break!
19:51
Zverev – Norrie 0:0
And when Norrie puts a forehand into the net without a net, Zverev gets his first break point.
19:51
Zverev – Norrie 0:0
Norrie’s first winner doesn’t take long to arrive. After the good external service, the backhand is just a formality. So the 28-year-old determines where the points go, because shortly afterwards he hits the felt ball with the frame.
7:49 p.m
1 sentence
At this moment Norrie opens the match. The first serve comes right away, but a little later the left-hander misses a backhand.
19:46
Head 2 Head
For the seventh time, the two will face each other on the tennis court for an official match. The previous record speaks of 4:2 victories for Zverev. The German had the upper hand in the first duel at a junior tournament in Roehampton in 2013, but was defeated twice shortly afterwards at a Future and a Challenger event. On the ATP tour, the German always won in two sets in the three comparisons between 2019 and 2022. The last five matches all took place outside on hard courts. And it is noticeable that both have already played four tie-breaks against each other – the last three went to Zverev.
19:41
Entry and coin toss
At this moment our protagonists enter the Center Court. After a few steps of preparation, they meet at the net together with the French chair umpire Renaud Lichtenstein for the vote. The coin falls in Zverev’s favor. Who chooses backlash. Afterwards they both play together some more.
7:36 p.m
ATP Finals
Zverev is seventh in the Race to Turin. Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner have already made it to the ATP Finals for the eight best tennis players of the year. With Andrey Rublev it’s just a formality. A lot is still possible behind this. In particular, the last Masters of the year next week in Paris-Bercy will provide a lot of information about the starting field in Turin. Norrie only has theoretical chances in this regard.
19:29
Shortly
Then everything happens quite quickly. With the only break in the match, Jannik Sinner brought about the decision late in the second set and won against Ben Shelton 7:6 and 7:5. This means that the place will soon be free for our match, which could actually start around 7:45 p.m.
7:25 p.m
Zverev 2023
Zverev also recently had to deal with opening defeats in Shanghai and Tokyo, which was certainly due to his tight program with few rest breaks and playing with a cold. The Olympic champion had made a big impression in September, winning his 21st tournament victory in the 250cc in Chengdu, his second this year after Hamburg. In addition, the tenth in the world rankings appeared in six semi-final rounds this season – not only in Roland Garros and the Masters in Cincinnati but also recently in Beijing.
7:15 p.m
delay
Messrs. Shelton and Sinner are currently at work on the Center Court in the Wiener Stadthalle. The second sentence is in the decisive phase. Now it remains to be seen whether we will get to the train around 7:45 p.m. or well after 8 p.m. It’s just a matter of waiting.
7:04 p.m
Champion of 2021
Zverev only plays singles this week. The fifth-seeded German started the day before yesterday with a two-set win against Sebastian Ofner, who only put up resistance in the first round. The Hamburger is in the main field in Austria’s capital for the third time after 2017 and 2021, and also failed to qualify in 2014. When he appears in the town hall, the tournament victory two years ago clearly stands out.
18:53
Norrie in Vienna
In Vienna, Norrie will be in the main draw for the fourth time since 2018. In the last two years, the left-hander made it to the round of 16, as he did this week. The unseeded Brit faced the Austrian qualifier Filip Misolic at the start on Monday. After almost two and a half hours he defeated them 7:6, 4:6 and 6:3. In the doubles competition, Norrie is already in the quarter-finals alongside Tommy Paul after a smooth two-set win yesterday against a Kazakh-Ecuardorian duo and will be challenged again tomorrow.
18:42
Norrie 2023
This season Norrie has shown amazing early form, reaching the finals of the 250s in Auckland and Buenos Aires at the start of the year. After the Johannesburg native lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the Argentine capital, he beat him in three sets in the final in Rio de Janeiro. Things weren’t going to get any better this year. In May there was a semi-final in Lyon before early elimination became more and more common. Most recently, the world number 18 failed to clear the opening hurdle three times in a row in Beijing, Shanghai and Tokyo.
6:31 p.m
Norrie
When it comes to internationality, hardly anyone has more to offer than Cameron Norrie. Father Scottish, mother Welsh, born in South Africa, grew up in New Zealand, moved to Great Britain at the age of 15, and two years later to the USA to study. As a professional, the 28-year-old plays for the United Kingdom, including in the Davis Cup. On the ATP tour, the left-hander reached 14 finals and won five of them. His greatest success was the triumph at the Indian Wells Masters in 2022. He also reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 2022. That year, Norrie climbed to number eight in the world rankings.
6:20 p.m
Welcome
Welcome to the Erste Bank Open! We reached the round of 16 at the 500 tournament in the Vienna Stadthalle. Alexander Zverev and Cameron Norrie, among others, have to deal with each other. The match is scheduled to start around 7:00 p.m.