Fourth-seeded German Alexander Zverev began his quest for a first Grand Slam title in style on Tuesday at Wimbledon as he overcame qualifier Tallon Griekspoor 6-3, 6-4, 6-1.
The 24-year-old fired 20 aces and won 77 per cent (37/48) of his first-service points on No. 1 court to advance in 94 minutes. Zverev lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas, who fell in the first round to Frances Tiafoe on Monday, in the semi-finals at Roland Garros earlier this month.
“It is great to see everything slowly going back to normal. The moment I walked out onto this court made me very happy, to see all the people here,” Zverev said. “I felt comfortable on the court. It is great we have a roof on court one now.
”Wimbledon is such a historic tournament, and they keep on improving, trying to make it better for the players and the public, and that is why everyone loves this tournament.”
Zverev has won titles at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC (d. Tsitsipas) and the Mutua Madrid Open (d. Berrettini) this year, and next faces Norbert Gombos or Tennys Sandgren. The German’s best performance at The Championships was a run to the fourth round in 2017 (l. to Raonic).
After Zverev faced an early scare against the Dutchman, fending off two break points in the opening game, he combined his explosive serving with heavy baseline hitting to power into a 5-1 lead. While he was pegged back to 5-3, Zverev closed out on serve, hitting 12 winners in the first set.
Alexander Zverev marches on in style.
The German makes light work of Tallon Griekspoor in the first round to win 6-3, 6-4, 6-1#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/KHGLqrC3MD
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 29, 2021
After the roof was closed in the early stage of the second set due to rain, Griekspoor struggled to control his groundstrokes. He stuck the ball well as he attempted to overpower the World No. 6, but in doing so, frequently fired his forehand long. He committed 10 unforced errors in the set as Zverev moved further ahead, breaking twice to establish control.
Zverev returned well throughout to neutralise the Griekspoor delivery. He then continued to serve well in the third set, winning 83 per cent (10/12) of his first-service points to lead 4-1, before breaking with a backhand winner for the seventh time in the match. Last year’s US Open finalist now holds a 9-5 record at Wimbledon.
The World No. 124 Greikspoor was making his debut at Wimbledon after coming through qualifying. The 24-year-old is now 2-4 on the season at tour-level.
Source Tennis – ATP World Tour
