tennis
Zverev easily continues at the US Open in “Snoop Dogg’s living room”.
Alexander Zverev won his opening game in New York in three sets. photo
© John Minchillo/AP/dpa
Alexander Zverev passes the opening task at the US Open without much effort. Companions have confidence in the Olympic champion in New York. A certain smell is a topic for tennis pros.
During his sovereign opening win at the US Open, he felt Alexander Zverev as in “Snoop Dogg’s Living Room”.
After the unchallenged 6: 4, 6: 4, 6: 4 over the Australian Aleksandar Vukic on his return to the Grand Slam tournament in New York, the Olympic tennis champion reported the smell of marijuana flowing over outdoor court 17. “Oh my god, it’s literally everywhere, the whole place smells like weed,” said the 26-year-old after entering the second round, drawing the comparison to the US rapper, who is known for consuming weed.
Other professionals such as Maria Sakkari had previously complained about the penetrating smell on parts of the system, but unlike the Greek, Zverev was not discouraged. After his 13th ace, the man from Hamburg routinely celebrated his successful return to the last Grand Slam tournament of the year.
“Very confident from start to finish”
After 2:09 hours, the 26-year-old converted his first match point. At 26 degrees and high humidity, Zverev only gave up his serve once in the final phase of the game and lived up to his role as a favorite. “For a first lap, it was really, really good from me, very confident from start to finish,” said Zverev about his performance.
“A strong performance, I especially liked the way he played,” said tennis icon Boris Becker as an expert on Sportdeutschland.TV. “It’s up to him if he keeps playing like this – I like him a lot today – if he keeps that up then he can beat anyone in the world.” Previously, Tamara Korpatsch was the first German tennis professional to reach the second round at this US Open.
Thiem sees Zverev as a favorite
Zverev continued to demonstrate his good form. At the dress rehearsal in Cincinnati he had defeated the former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev from Russia and kept up well in the semifinals against the Serbian top favorite Novak Djokovic. “I definitely see him among the favorites,” said his Austrian buddy Dominic Thiem before the tournament.
After Zverev had to sit out the US Open last year due to his serious ankle injury, it should now go as far as 2020, when he narrowly missed the big triumph in his only Grand Slam final against Thiem.
Zverev against Vukic largely without much trouble
But he still has to improve for that. Unlike in training, Zverev no longer wore tape on his left wrist. After lying wrong in his sleep, the man from Hamburg reported slight pain before the tournament – there was no sign of it at the beginning of the game. The first serve was not safe at first, but Zverev still had his opponent largely under control.
When the score was 2:2, the world number 12 worked out the first breakballs. He used the second and cheered with his fist in the direction of his attachment with father Alexander senior and girlfriend Sophia Thomalla in the stands.
Zverev was the more active player, stabilized further and took the world number 50. directly from the service in the third game of the second round. Zverev also survived the few difficult moments with ease: the former second in the world rankings fended off his opponent’s breakball with a strong serve when the score was 3: 2.
After the second set he had something brought out of his box to snack on. With renewed energy, we continued in a concentrated manner. Zverev managed to break again in the initial phase – and looked like the sure winner. To make it 4:4, he still gave up his serve, but hit it back directly and was able to celebrate a little later.
Korpatsch for the first time in New York in round two
For Zverev it was the seventh win in Flushing Meadows in a row, while Korpatsch is in the second round of the US Open for the first time. The 28-year-old prevailed 6: 3, 6: 2 against Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu. Tatjana Maria, on the other hand, was eliminated directly. The 36-year-old had no chance in the 2: 6, 1: 6 against Croatian Petra Martic in 66 minutes.
In the first set, Korpatsch was already 5-0 ahead, allowed himself a small phase of weakness, but kept his nerve. The second round was a largely clear affair for the world number 75. “It was not clear to me before that it was so clear,” said Korpatsch, who had reached the second round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time this year in Wimbledon.
Previously in New York, Laura Siegemund was the first of five German players in the main draw to narrowly miss a surprise against American co-favorite Coco Gauff.