Alexander Zverev remains firm towards 3R of Paris | ATP Tour

Roland Garros

Zverev remains firm towards 3R of Paris

The German reaches 30 victories this season

May 30, 2024

Alexander Zverev reached 30 victories this season, after beating David Goffin 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-2 in the second round of Roland Garros. And eight of those games he has won consecutively.

The No. 4 seed stood firm on French clay, after a debut full of emotions and intensity at the Philippe Chatrier last Monday against fourteen-time tournament champion Rafael Nadal.

“Since the draw came out, the only thing the tennis world was talking about was the match.” [contra Nada]”Zverev acknowledged when asked about the emotions in this last week. “He has won the tournament 14 times, so he deserves all the credit, respect and recognition. After beating him, I felt like he had already won the tournament, but in the end it was just a first round.”

“You have to focus for another two weeks completely and I’m glad I had two days off because I had to compose myself emotionally. I had to put my feet on the ground and get back to work, play good tennis. “I am very happy with my level today,” added the German.

The recent title winner at the ATP Masters 1000 in Rome has two more victories on the slower surface in Paris and has reached the third round in eight of his nine Grand Slam appearances on clay.

The German remained very solid with his serve, with which he achieved 8 direct serves, raised his success with firsts to 78% and did not concede any breaks to his rival.

Zverev will look for the second week at Roland Garros against the No. 26 seed Tallon Griekspoor or the Italian Luciano Darderi.

Zverev was joined by Casper Ruud, the 2023 Roland Garros finalist. The Norwegian needed to work hard to beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in four hours and 8 minutes of the game.

In the couple’s fifth Lexus ATP Head2Head matchup (2-2 to date), Ruud deployed his entire clay court hitting arsenal, the same one that has led him to become a surface specialist.

The Norwegian, seventh seed at Roland Garros, has just completed a splendid European clay tour, having won two titles (Barcelona and Geneva), in addition to reaching the final in Monte Carlo.

To beat Davidovich Fokina, Ruud needed a tremendous effort, overcoming four hours of play and agonizingly winning in the fifth set when midnight was close to falling on Paris.

For his part, Álex de Miñaur beat Jaume Munar 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 to reach the third round of Roland Garros, taking a 3-0 lead in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

The Australian, who this year broke the Top 10 barrier in the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time in his career, defended his title in Acapulco earlier this season, in addition to reaching the final in Rotterdam. In great shape, as world No. 11, de Minaur landed at Roland Garros ready to improve his historical ceiling in the tournament, which until today was the second round (2019, 2021 and 2023).

Thus, the victory against Munar allowed the Australian to take a step forward and reach that desired third round in Paris, where he now has options to continue growing.

De Minaur converted 7 of the 13 break opportunities he had, hit 25 winners and won 62 points to take the victory in two hours and 11 minutes.