Australian Open: Zverev without losing a set in the round of 16 in Melbourne

The reunited successful doubles Kevin Krawietz/Andreas Mies (Coburg/Cologne) reached the round of 16 for the first time at the Australian Open. While the two-time title holder Wiktoria Asarenka is still going strong, Alexander Zverev continues to hold up the German flag in singles. Also in action today are Rafael Nadal (about 10.30 a.m. in the LIVE TICKER) and Ashleigh Barty (circa 10 p.m. im LIVE TICKER).

Zverev is still without losing a set in his title hunt at the Australian Open, but still has a lot of room for improvement. Despite periods of lack of concentration, the Olympic tennis champion was never in serious danger against the qualifier Radu Albot and is among the top 16 in Melbourne for the fourth time in a row.

The Hamburger won his third round match against the Moldovan on Friday 6: 3, 6: 4, 6: 4, in the important moments Zverev showed his class. “I struggled a bit on the court, I didn’t feel perfect,” he said: “But who is perfect? ​​I won and I’m happy about that.”

In the round of 16, however, he should be challenged in a completely different way: There, young star Denis Shapovalov, who was seeded in 14th position, is waiting as the first real test. In the six duels with the 22-year-old Canadian so far, Zverev has won four times.

After two night shifts in the first laps, Zverev had to work in the afternoon for the first time, but he was wide awake even when work started earlier. The German number one dominated, kept coming back to the net and forced Albot to make mistakes. With his own serve, Zverev was untouchable in the first set.

Zverev struggles during the game

Nevertheless, he had warned in the run-up to the match that the Moldovan was “in top form” after all, including qualifying, he had already celebrated five wins in a row in Melbourne. Albot had also caused problems for the top German player and challenged him over five sets in the previous only meeting at the US Open 2019.

But the match on Friday illustrated the development of Germany’s athlete of the year since then. When Albot got into the match better in the second set and Zverev’s serve eased off, things got dicey for the winner of the ATP Finals. But Zverev also mastered these situations with a total of five breakballs against himself with nerves of steel and kept the opponent at a distance.

Nevertheless, Zverev often seemed dissatisfied and quarreled – his claims are of course higher. After the forced departure of world number one Novak Djokovic before the start of the tournament, the 24-year-old is one of the hottest title contenders alongside US Open winner Daniil Medvedev and 20-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal. He could meet the Spanish superstar in the quarter-finals.

Australian Open: Krawietz/Mies on

In the individual competitions, Zverev is the only remaining German, all other eleven starters had already failed in the second round at the latest. In doubles, the reunited Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies cause a sensation again. The two-time French Open winners reached the round of 16 for the first time in Melbourne with a 6: 4, 6: 7 (7: 9), 6: 4 against the Americans Austin Krajicek / Sam Querrey.

“It was a great match at a really high level,” said Mies, who had to undergo knee cartilage surgery early last year. For the first time since winning the second title in Roland Garros 2020, the “KraMies” are together on the Grand Slam stage in Melbourne and are already in perfect harmony again. “Of course, the euphoria is there to be back on the pitch together,” said Krawietz.

Australian Open: Azarenka rolls over Svitolina

The 32-year-old Asarenka, who triumphed in Melbourne in 2012 and 2013, made it into the round of 16 for the first time since 2016 with a surprisingly clear 6-0, 6-2 against Olympic bronze medalist Elina Switolina (Ukraine). Azarenka has not yet lost a set in the tournament so far, losing only nine games in her three matches.

In the round of 16, the former world number one meets French Open winner Barbora Krejcikova. The fourth in the world rankings from the Czech Republic won against the former Paris winner Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) 2: 6, 6: 4, 6: 4.

Berrettini stops Alcaraz in a five-set thriller

Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini put the up-and-coming top tennis talent Carlos Alcaraz in his place with a lot of effort. The seventh in the world rankings from Italy had to fight the round of 16 against the 18-year-old Spaniard despite a 2-0 set lead over the full distance, in the end he won 6-2, 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 2 :6, 7:6 (10:5) through.

Alcaraz had recently attracted attention at the “Next Gen” finals in Milan, and he won the title at the annual final of the best young professionals. He had previously reached the quarterfinals at the US Open in New York. At the end of last season, he had missed his participation in the Davis Cup final round with Spain due to a corona infection.

Australia Open Day 5: Key Results