Alexander Zverev reached the second round of the ATP Masters 1000 in the evening sun of Monte Carlo on Tuesday. After losing the first set, the 20-year-old beat Gilles Muller from Luxembourg 4:6, 6:3 6:2.
“It wasn’t an easy match, Gilles is one of the most aggressive players on the tour,” Zverev said after the match. In the first set he managed the first break in the seventh game, but from that point on nothing went at all: Zverev lost the next three games and also the first round.
The Center Court of the Monte Carlo Country Club emptied noticeably for the last game of the day, but the few remaining spectators repeatedly irritated both players with unnecessary interjections. “I hope I won’t have to play my next match so late,” Zverev said. “I thank the fans who stayed.”
However, the two-time Masters Champion Zverev did not let this deter him, he broke in the first service game of the second set against the strong serve Muller. Another secured the set equalization after almost one and a half hours.
The same picture in the decisive set: Zverev quickly took a 2-0 lead and did not let go of the advantage. After two hours and four minutes, Zverev benefited from a double mistake by Muller in his second match point.
“It won’t get any easier, but I played quite well today,” said Zverev. “I’ve also played on clay in the Davis Cup, I’m looking forward to the next tasks.”
An all-German duel could take place in the round of 16: Zverev is waiting for the winner of Fabio Fognini versus Jan-Lennard Struff, who beat Japan’s Yuichi Sugita on Tuesday.
Sascha’s brother Mischa also celebrated a victory on Tuesday. A few hours earlier, he beat the Frenchman Lucas Pouille, who reached the semi-finals last year, somewhat surprisingly in the tiebreak of the third set. A duel between brothers would be possible in the quarter-finals.