Tennis Olympic champion Alexander Zverev has come another step closer to winning the first tournament in his home town of Hamburg. The 26-year-old dominated the German duel against Nuremberg’s Maximilian Marterer and advanced 6:3, 7:5 to the quarter-finals of the EUR 1.832 million clay court event.
After top scorer Robert Glatzel from the second division soccer team Hamburger SV tossed the coin to choose the serve, it didn’t take long for Zverev, number four in Hamburg, to find his way into the game. After a little over half an hour he got the first set. In the second round, Zverev lost a 4-1 lead against his 28-year-old opponent, but then recovered. After 1:17 hours he converted the first match point.
Ruud and Rublev also continue
Previously, two of Zverev’s strongest competitors struggled to win their opening matches. World number five Casper Ruud from Norway beat Argentinian Sebastian Baez 6:3, 1:6, 6:3. The Russian Andrei Rublev had to overcome even more resistance until he defeated the Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles 5: 7, 6: 1, 7: 6 (9: 7). “I think he deserved to win,” said the 2020 tournament winner.
Rublev won the tournament in Bastad, Sweden, in the final against Ruud on Sunday. “I’m very tired,” admitted the seventh in the world rankings in Hamburg. This Thursday he is already playing for a place in the quarter-finals. Then he meets Daniel Altmaier from Kempen. Yannick Hanfmann will face Zhizhen Zhang from China in the round of 16.
