Zverev Downs Ferrer, Advances At Rotterdam

Alexander Zverev advanced to the second round of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament with a 6-4, 6-3 win over David Ferrer on Monday. The 20-year-old Zverev needed one hour and 24 minutes to dispatch the veteran Spaniard.

“It’s not easy to play Ferrer, especially in the first round of a tournament,” Zverev said. “This is a tough tournament, and I’m happy with the win.”

While Zverev struggled with his serve, he still managed to save nine of 11 break point opportunities. He also converted on five of six break-point opportunities (2/11 for Ferrer). Both committed an uncharacteristic number of unforced errors (Zverev, 26; Ferrer, 31).

“The court is quite quick and the balls are bouncing low. I’m quite tall so a low bounce is difficult but I like quick courts. I’ve won a lot of tournaments on quick courts,” Zverev said. “I want to make my game more dimensional. I felt good returning; I felt well in the long rallies.”

With the win, Zverev moves to 1-2 lifetime in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Ferrer. He’ll next face Italian Andreas Seppi, who beat Portugal’s Joao Sousa 6-4, 1-6, 6-2.