Struggled at first, eventually surged: (original header: Weak start, then climb: Iowa caucus night returns to chaos)
Alexander Zverev navigated a tentative start to secure a place in the French Open's third round on Monday. The German tennis star overcame a nervy first set against Dutchman Jesper de Jong, eventually triumphing 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 in Paris.
Zverev, the reigning finalist, struggled initially, appearing sluggish and seemingly underprepared for De Jong. The latter's aggressive use of short balls proved troublesome for Zverev, who frequently found himself too far behind the baseline to return them effectively. Uncharacteristic errors with overhead shots also contributed to De Jong's 6-3 victory in the opening set.
Speaking Courtside, a relieved Zverev acknowledged, "The first set was not my best tennis. but I improved significantly from there, I'm really pleased with sets two, three, and four."
In the second set, Zverev faced a scare as he faced two break points and had to rally before breaking back and eventually securing the set. De Jong's form faltered after that, allowing Zverev to assert control over the match. Discussions over ball marks with the referee, a common occurrence due to the lack of electronic line calling in Paris, did little to derail Zverev's momentum.
In the third round, Zverev will face Italian Flavio Cobolli, who defeated Matteo Arnaldi in his previous match. Cobolli recently clinched the title at the Rothenbaum in Hamburg, a tournament where Zverev was eliminated in the round of 16 and later complained of nausea and fever.
However, Zverev downplayed the impact of that illness on his performance against De Jong. "I feel fine now. That's one of the benefits of a stomach virus; you feel rough for a short time but recover quickly," he stated after his first-round win against Learner Tien. "It was a good test," Zverev said of the duel with De Jong, "I need to play well in the next matches as the competition will only get tougher."
Meanwhile, all German women players have already been eliminated from the tournament. In the women's singles, Coco Gauff had no trouble defeating Czech Tereza Valentova 6-2, 6-4. Jannik Sinner also progressed, defeating Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-0, 6-4, effectively ending the Frenchman's career.
As for Daniel Altmaier, he will battle Serbian Hamad Medjedovic for a spot in the round of 16 later this Friday. If successful, Altmaier would earn his second round of 16 appearance in the French capital after 2020.
After a challenging first set, Zverev acknowledges his performance was not his best, but improved significantly in the subsequent sets, revealing his intent to continue playing well in the upcoming matches due to the increasing competition in tennis. In the upcoming third round, Zverev will face Italian Flavio Cobolli, who recently clinched the title at the Rothenbaum in Hamburg.
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