Seventh Cincinnati Match Is The Charm For Zverev
The seventh time was the charm for Alexander Zverev at the Western & Southern Open.
After losing his first six main draw matches at the ATP Masters 1000 event, Zverev snapped that streak on Wednesday. The third seed battled past South African Lloyd Harris 7-6(3), 6-2 to reach the third round in Cincinnati.
“I’m happy with how I am, I’m happy where I’m at and I’m happy to get my first win in seven years here,” Zverev said in his on-court interview. “It’s obviously a great start to the week.”
Zverev is high on confidence following his run to the singles gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. The 24-year-old has now won seven consecutive matches, from which six victories have come in straight sets.
“It’s great. When I came on court and they said Olympic gold medalist, it did give me goosebumps,” Zverev said. “It made me a little nervous at the beginning of the match, I have to say because it is a special feeling.”
[MASTERS 1000]Harris has played well this North American hard-court swing, earning the biggest win of his career against Rafael Nadal in Washington. The South African did not have enough firepower to break through his opponent, though.
Four-time Masters 1000 titlist Zverev hit a curling backhand passing shot just inside both the sideline and the baseline to seal the opening set in a tie-break, and never looked back. Zverev hit 11 aces and did not face a break point in his one-hour, 16-minute victory.
The 2019 Nitto ATP Finals champion will next face Argentine lefty Guido Pella, who beat Italian Fabio Fognini 6-1, 7-5 in one hour and 29 minutes. Zverev won their only previous ATP Head2Head meeting four years ago in the Munich final on clay.