Masters in Madrid: Alexander Zverev moves into the round of 16 against Marin Cilic despite a deficit

Keep your nerves, sense of achievement: Olympic tennis champion Alexander Zverev reached the round of 16 at the Masters in Madrid.

The 25-year-old defending champion from Hamburg prevailed 4: 6, 6: 4, 6: 4 in the second round against the Croatian Marin Cilic and now meets Sebastian Korda (USA) or Lorenzo Musetti (Italy).

“I just lost focus in the first set,” said Zverev, “but I’m happy with the win and happy that I made it through. Marin is a difficult opponent.” He himself “played very well”.

Against the 2014 US Open winner, the third in the world rankings, who had a bye in the first round, improved over the course of the match, especially on the serve.

Zverev on the winning road with an early break in the third set

Zverev then got through an early break in the third round. A week earlier in Munich he had failed in his opening match against eventual tournament winner Holger Rune (Denmark).

Before starting in Madrid, Zverev had shown himself confident that his new coach Sergi Bruguera would help him out of the form crisis. He hopes that the two-time French Open winner from Spain will accompany him “for a very long time”, said Zverev: “I need a coach, I need leadership.”