Tennis: Zverev sovereign in the third round in Indian Wells

tennis
Zverev sovereign in the third round in Indian Wells

Tennis star Alexander Zverev celebrates his victory. photo

© Maximilian Haupt/dpa

Alexander Zverev likes the tournament in Indian Wells, although he has had little success in California so far. He succeeds at the start, but in the end he spends more time in the rain break than on the field.

Olympic champion Alexander Zverev didn’t let a long break in the rain upset him and reached the third round at the Masters in Indian Wells.

The 25-year-old from Hamburg beat Argentina’s Pedro Cachin 6-3, 6-1, spending more time in the catacombs than on the pitch. The game in the first set was interrupted for more than two hours due to rain, but the two professionals were only around one and a half hours on the court in stadium two on the facility in the Californian desert.

“Very solid first round”

“It was a very solid first round for me. I’m happy about the level I played,” Zverev told the German Press Agency. “The conditions weren’t easy. I was expecting a day match in the heat. You stretch your racquet differently. Then it became a night match, but I found the level to be very, very high and I’m happy about it, like me played.”

For Zverev, it was the first game in the $10.1 million (€9.48 million) tournament. In the first round, the player seeded number twelve had a bye. In the third round he meets either Roberto Bautista Agut from Spain or Emil Ruusuvuori from Finland. Zverev was particularly satisfied with his performance in the second set. “I raised my level significantly in the second set,” he said.

During the long break he reduced the tension. “Otherwise you’ll get tired at some point. It was important to warm up and get into the match and I did that,” he said. “I ate something, showered and changed and then I was in the locker room – just like all the other players. The locker room was full, it wasn’t just raining in second place.”

Zverev had recently reached the semifinals at the ATP tournament in Dubai and won two games in a row for the first time since his serious ankle injury. The man from Hamburg tore several ligaments in his ankles at the French Open and only played tournaments again at the beginning of the year.

In addition to the Olympic champion Zverev, Jan-Lennard Struff is also in the competition in Indian Wells from a German perspective, he will play in the second round against the American Tommy Paul on Saturday. Oscar Otte lost in the second round against Karen Chatschanow from Russia 3:6, 3:6 and was eliminated.

Indian Wells seedings

dpa

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