tennis
United Cup: Zverev equalizes
Alexander Zverev beat Stefanos Tsitsipas at the United Cup. photo
© Mark Baker/AP/dpa
Alexander Zverev can still be relied on at the United Cup. The Olympic champion also wins his third game in Sydney. Angelique Kerber had previously clearly lost.
Angelique Kerber had previously lost 0:6, 3:6 against Maria Sakkari and had no chance at all. The decision about who will make it to the semi-finals this Saturday will now be made in the mixed doubles.
Zverev is still unbeaten in the new season. The Hamburg native had previously won in the preliminary round against Lorenzo Sonego from Italy and the Frenchman Adrian Mannarino. Against Tsitsipas it was only the fifth victory for the German in the 15th duel.
“I knew that I had to play very aggressively from the start,” said Zverev after the game. “I knew it was always very difficult for me against Stefanos. But Germany needed this win and I got it.” Last year, Zverev lost all of his games at the United Cup after a long injury break and was then eliminated in the second round at the Australian Open. “I’ve already won more games in Australia than last year. I hope I can stay here a little longer this year.”
Against Tsitsipas, the German number one showed a strong performance from the start and made few mistakes overall. In the first set he managed the decisive break to make it 4:3, in the second round he took serve from Tsitsipas to make it 5:4 and converted his first match point a little later.
Kerber has no chance
Kerber had previously suffered her first significant setback after returning from a year and a half maternity leave. The former world number one had no chance in her singles match against Sakkari. After 1:14 hours, Sakkari converted her third match point.
Kerber, who was able to convince at times in her previous defeats against the Italian Jasmine Paolini (4:6, 5:7) and the French Caroline Garcia (6:1, 2:6, 2:6), did not get into the game at all and made many mistakes. For Kerber, the mixed event is her comeback on the tennis tour after the birth of her daughter Liana at the end of February 2023.