Alexander Zverev started into the ATP-500 tournament in Vienna with a fiercely contested victory over Victor Troicki and played his favorite role.
Maximilian Kisanyik reports from the Vienna City Hall
Alexander Zverev is back on the tennis court. After his retirement at the Masters-1000-Tournament in Shanghai, the 20-year-old returned to the spotlight in the first round in Vienna against Victor Troicki.
The spectators in the Vienna Stadthalle had to be patient. Gilles Simon had previously knocked out Latvian Ernest’s Gulbis 6-3 and 6-3 from the tournament, followed by a 6-2,6-3 win for Richard Gasquet over Feliciano Lopez. In the third match of the day, the German Philipp Kohlschreiber won 7:6 (6) and 6:4 against John Isner. Then it was time for the tournament’s top-set to clear the stage.
The Hamburg citizen did not need to get used to the new situation. The basic strokes were almost flawless from the beginning and the German took the lead with Spielwitz and Konstanz 4:1. Troicki was clearly overwhelmed with the power of the 20-year-old and couldn’t find his way into the rallies. After 31 minutes of play, the world’s number five secured the round with a strong 6:3.
At the beginning of the second set, Zverev didn’t act so compellingly anymore and let his opponent come into play better and better. So it didn’t take long before the Serbian won a break and also the second round with 6:4.
The German, however, remained calm and set striking needle marks in the decisive passage. However, the Hamburg-based rider paid for a quick 3-0 lead with a re–break. However, Zverev won the match with a big effort and won 6:3,4:6 and 6:4.
Grigor Dimitrov, who was scheduled to enter the tournament on Wednesday, canceled his start at short notice. He stated that he was not feeling fit enough after the long trip to Asia.
The single panel in Vienna