Tennis Olympic champion Alexander Zverev won his first match at the ATP tournament in Bastad, Sweden, after losing the third round in Wimbledon.
The 26-year-old prevailed on Tuesday (07/18/2023) in Båstad, Sweden, 6: 4, 3: 6, 7: 5 against Slovakian Alex Molcan and, after a long fight, advanced to the second round. Zverev converted his first match point on the clay court after 2:25 hours.
Zverev back on clay after Wimbledon: “I’m glad I won”
“I’m glad I won in the end. It’s never easy because it was the first match on clay after the grass season. Everyone will have problems at first“, said Zverev: “I’m in the second round, that’s the most important thing.“
Game Interruption because of rain
The encounter had to be interrupted early in the first set due to rain. After the forced break, Zverev initially came into play better, but lost the second set after a small drop in performance and also had to invest a lot of energy in the final section.
Zverev now against Monteiro
Zverev was last eliminated in the third round of the grass classic in Wimbledon against Italian Matteo Berrettini. In Bastad he now meets Brazilian Thiago Monteiro in the fight for a place in the quarter-finals. Zverev is fifth in the tournament, which is worth 562,815 euros.
Leo Borg with his first win on the ATP tour
At the tournament in Bastad, Leo Borg, son of the Swedish tennis icon Björn Borg, also celebrated his first success on the ATP tour. The 20-year-old defeated compatriot Elias Ymer 7:6 (7:5), 6:3 in the first round of his home game. In the second round he now meets the Argentinian Federico Coria.
Leo Borg, previously only active in Challenger tournaments, is following in big footsteps: Father Björn won a total of 66 individual titles during his active career, including eleven Grand Slams. At the end of the 1970s alone, he won five times in a row on the “sacred lawn” at Wimbledon. Overall, Björn Borg spent 109 weeks as number one in the world rankings.