Alexander Zverev reached the quarter-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Monte Carlo for the first time one day before his 21st birthday. Against Davis Cup colleague Jan-Lennard Struff, “Sascha” won in three sets.
The stuffy midday heat on the Rainier III court was much better for Alexander Zverev than the wet and cold conditions in the evening match against Gilles Müller. In the German-German duel with Jan-Lennard Struff, the world ranking fourth won 6:4, 4:6, 6:4 after 2:03 hours.
“Sometimes you don’t have such a good day. Then you have to find a way. I did, so I’m very happy,” said Zverev after the win against his pal Struff, to whom he attested a good performance: “He always fought back and never gave up.
Zverev initially managed to improve, especially on the serve: In the opening set, he won 72 percent of the points when the first one came. Struff, however, had much more trouble with its own service. 18 unforced mistakes and two service losses of the 1.96-metre giant gave Zverev the 1-0 set lead.
In front of his trainer Carsten Arriens, Struff did not want to sail defenselessly in the second race. After a break festival, the Warsteiner suddenly sat in the driver’s seat, but was unable to convert a 5:3 lead into a set equaliser. But Zverev helped: A double mistake by the Miami finalist gave Struff the extra round he deserved.
In the decision Zverev was then again fully on the height. However, he would have lost a 5-2 lead by a hair. A miserable volley and subsequent forehand mistake by Struffs helped the number three on the seed list to a hard-fought victory.
It was Zverev’s third victory in the third ATP comparison with Struff. The 20-year-old had also won the two duels in Munich (2017) and Barcelona (2016) on the red ashes.
A few hours after Alexander’s victory, Mischa Zverev lost his round of 16 against Richard Gasquet 2-6, 5-7, and the Frenchman is now the younger Zverev brother’s next opponent on Friday. Happy birthday!!!!