Alexander Zverev begins his attack on Wednesday’s second title at an ATP Masters 1000 tournament this year. The opponent in round two will be the Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili (07:00, in our LIVE-TICKER and on SKY).
Alexander Zverev did not mention the double tableau in Shanghai. The German number one is concentrating entirely on his individual tasks, where Nikoloz Basilashvili, the newest member of the top 30 after his success at the ATP World Tour 500 tournament in Tokyo, will be waiting for him on Wednesday. At least at his first appearance at the penultimate Masters 1000 tournament of the year, the Georgian did not even begin to show any tiredness, saying goodbye to Denis Shapovalov in two sets with 6:2 and 6:2.
The fact that Zverev is still appearing in a duet in Shanghai is due to the status the 21-year-old has earned in world tennis: as one of the players with whom organisers like to promote their tournaments. Zverev knows how to convince with his charm, even established industry giants like Marin Cilic have to acknowledge this without envy.
Zverev’s preparation for the tournament in Shanghai was not quite smooth, the defeat against Malek Jaziri last week in Beijing came as a surprise, especially as the match progressed. Zverev was the better player, but in some moments he lacked the necessary concentration. Jaziri, on the other hand, proved to be a champion of efficiency, using all three break points he found.
With immediate effect, Zverev’s play equipment had to atone for this, and Ivan Lendl certainly also found a few critical words in the match analysis.
But the tennis year 2018 went well for Alexander Zverev, even though his success at the Grand Slam tournaments has not yet materialized. On the other hand: The qualification for the ATP final in London is almost fixed, also thanks to strong performances at the ATP Masters 1000 tournaments: A victory in Madrid (in the final against Dominic Thiem), and twice in the final (defeats against John Isner in Miami and Rafael Nadal in Rome), would be a good balance for many players.
With Basilashvili, Zverev encounters a player who should suit him: The Georgian, since this summer trained by the German Jan de Witt, is a friend of speed play, the slow slice balls with which Jaziri Zverev tortured Basilashvili are rather strange.
Zverev and his opponents have not yet met at the highest level, but in 2015 there was a rendezvous in Marseille qualifying. Zverev prevailed in two sets.
If the Hamburg native succeeds in doing so in Shanghai as well, the draw will not look unfriendly: Zverev’s first seeded player, Pablo Carreno Busta, was waiting for Zverev’s branch, but he has already lost to Benoit Paire. In the quarter-finals, Marin might have threatened Cilic. But Zverev didn’t just have that in his pocket at the external date – Cilic also lost his first match against Nicolas Jarry in Shanghai.
Here the single tableau in Shanghai