Zverev Survives In Five At Roland Garros
It was far from easy, and some of the difficulty was self-inflicted, but Alexander Zverev found a way on Wednesday evening to reach the third round at Roland Garros for the third consecutive year.
The German had to battle hard against home favourite Pierre-Hugues Herbert, triumphing 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-4 after three hours and 59 minutes. Six of the 23-year-old’s 12 victories on the Parisian terre battue have come in five sets.
“I think I’m quite
fit, to be honest. I feel like physically I’m okay.
But sometimes I just feel like I find a way [to win],” Zverev said. “Today I was not the better player on court. I was
not hitting my forehand better, not hitting my backhand
better, not serving better. I was not doing anything better
than he did. But I found a way, which was the most
important. Sometimes I manage to do that quite well.”
In the first round, Zverev showed great form against big-hitting Dennis Novak, defeating the Austrian in straight sets. But it was apparent from the early moments against Herbert that the German had his hands full. Both men won 164 points in the match.
The Frenchman, who rushed the net 93 times, was one point from earning a 6-2, 5-1 lead against the sixth seed. But not capitalising on his early lead proved critical, as Zverev improved to 15-7 in five-setters.
“It’s something that I worked on
not in the matches, but outside the court, in the gym [during] the
offseason and the training blocks that I did. It was for
these moments,” Zverev said. “You don’t need to be lifting 170 kilos on dead
lifts or 150 kilos on squats for three-set matches. That’s
not what you’re doing it for. You’re doing it for five-set
matches, for the big moments like this.
I think that the work has been done not on the court, but
off the court.”
Photo Credit: Getty Images
There was a moment when it seemed Zverev would run away with a four-set victory after digging out of his early hole. The German rallied to take the second set, hitting a forehand lob winner to secure the crucial break. He then won six of the final seven points in the third-set tie-break to take the lead.
But Herbert, who has triumphed at all four Grand Slams in doubles with countryman Nicolas Mahut, put his doubles experience on display by continuing to move forward. The Frenchman won 11 of 13 net points in the fourth set and Zverev missed a backhand to send the match to a decider.
Zverev immediately went up a break in the fifth set and even after letting slip that advantage, he broke to serve for the match at 5-3. Herbert never gave up, but he could only battle back so many times. Zverev, the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals champion, hit a perfect backhand lob to earn his sixth service break and secure his triumph.
Zverev has reached the Roland Garros quarter-finals in back-to-back years. He will try to move one step closer to doing so again when he plays Italian qualifier Marco Cecchinato, who eliminated Argentine Juan Ignacio Londero 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2.
The German beat Cecchinato in straight sets at this year’s Australian Open. However, Cecchinato is a dangerous clay-court opponent who advanced to the semi-finals at Roland Garros two years ago.
In the same section of the draw, reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion Jannik Sinner reached the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 victory against home favourite Benjamin Bonzi.
With Sinner advancing, there are four Italians into the third round at Roland Garros, marking the first time four Italian men have reached the third round of a Grand Slam in the Open Era. The 19-year-old is fresh off a strong performance in Rome, where he upset Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Sinner will next play Argentine Federico Coria, who ousted 23rd seed Benoit Paire 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. Coria is the brother of 2004 Roland Garros finalist Guillermo Coria.