Alexander Zverev has confidently reached the second round of the French Open 2018: The second seeded German defeated Ricardas Berankis from Lithuania 6:1, 6:1 and 6:2.
By Jens Huiber from Paris
To stay in the picture that drew the official website of the French Open on Friday by Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic: The German number one went through his first-round task just as easily as a hot blade went through butter. Zverev beat Ricardas Berankis from Lithuania 6-1 at the start of the French Open and will face either Serbian Dusan Lajovic or Jiri Vesely from the Czech Republic in round two.
So far, Zverev and Djokovic had presented two sharp blades in Paris, and the 21-year-old from Hamburg was one of the two main attractions for the Sunday start from the men’s perspective. Grigor Dimitrov was allowed to open the court Philippe Chatrier against Lucky Loser Mohamed Safwat (and won completely safe), Zverev on Suzanne Lenglen end the day.
At the Media Day Zverev mentioned that he clearly prefers dry and thus faster conditions, the Paris weather did him this favour as a prelude. The places in Roland Garros are mercilessly watered down every evening, then covered. A layer of sand is almost a luxury that can be dispensed with, the transition to well-kept hard court tennis seems fluid.
But to stick to the sporting truth: That underground, on which Ricardas Berankis can keep up with Alexander Zverev, does not exist at present. And probably not in the coming years either. It took Zverev exactly 23 minutes, equipped with a pink top for the French Open to win set one.
As a serve, Zverev remained untouchable even afterwards. Like against almost every opponent in the past weeks. The second seeded German then also used a serve and volley variant, completed with a drop shot. Round two: same result, same duration. After all, Berankis managed one more game in the third set, which did not matter in the end.
Berankis is currently at number 92 on the ATP charts, with a career high of 92. At the beginning of April, he won two matches against Finland in the Davis Cup for his home country, after which there was a break. A contrast to the Zverevs, who spent three glorious weeks in Munich, Rome and Madrid, then recovered for a few days in Monte Carlo.
The active recovery came to an end after a playing time of 69 minutes, also Barbara Rittner, Head of Women´s Tennis in the DTB, had attended Zverev’s gala performance.
It is always good to start into a Grand Slam tournament without losing a set, Zverev explained in a conversation with Fabrice Santoro in the stadium.
And Zverev doesn’t have to worry about his next task either: He will now face Jri Vesely, who lost the final of the Challengers against Rudi Molleker in Heilbronn a few days ago. Or it could be against Dusan Lajovic. The Serbian may have reached the semi-finals in Lyon, but as a rule he plays in a different, lower price category than Germany’s number one.