Alexander Zverev missed his first round of the Australian Open. In the youngsters’ duel, Hyeon Chung was defeated by the South Korean Hyeon Chung 7-5,6-7,6-2,3-6,0-6.
From Ulrike Weinrich from Melbourne
For Zverev on the sixth day of the tournament, one thing was needed: patience. Because the top seeded Simona Halep (Romania) and the American Lauren Davis delivered a marathon match over 3:45 hours, the 20-year-old had to wait in the catacombs longer than expected for his appearance in the Rod Laver Arena.
At least the conditions accommodated the pros on Saturday in Melbourne Park, after temperatures of up to 42 degrees Celsius on the two previous days had created a Sahara feeling. Under a grey sky, an exciting match at eye level developed between the two “NextGen”stars from the very beginning.
At the beginning, Zverev was often able to rely on his strongest weapon in the decisive phases: the serve. The first breakball of the South Korean player with the striking white rimmed sports glasses was fought off by the Wahl-Monegasse at a score of 1:1 in the first set in the style of a champion. He served at 215 km/h – and after the service winner, he clenched his fist.
Last season’s ascender left no doubt that he wanted to take the initiative himself. His three set points and his first break points of the match,”Sascha” won two wins and a courageous stop ball, which led to success. After 44 minutes, Zverev had completed part one of his third round mission, after showing patience to the 21-year-old in a long rally. Almost as before in the stadium catacombs.
Chung, however, also showed why he is considered one of the greatest talents. The Auckland quarter-finalist took the second set in the tiebreak. Zverev then managed a quick break to 2:1, time and again he pushed himself with “Let’s go”-calls and was now the better actor. He extended his lead with another break and secured third place.
In the fourth round, Zverev lost his concentration and repeatedly demanded that the floodlight be switched on – initially in vain. At a score of 0:3 and 0:40 he prevented a double break, but still lost the set. In the deciding set, the world ranked fourth man was not able to catch himself any more – the serve of all people was now completely gone. On the other side, Chung played his best tennis and finished 6-0.
For Zverev, the Grand Slam misery continues: he is still waiting for his first quarter-finals at one of the four majors. Chung could now face Novak Djokovic in the round of sixteen.
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