Zverev Sprints Through Finish In Madrid Marathon

Alexander Zverev completed a stunning turnaround at the Mutua Madrid Open late Friday night and into the early hours of Saturday morning to continue his history of success at the ATP Masters 1000.

The 13th-seeded German pulled away late in a 6-7(6), 7-5, 6-0 victory against home favourite Roberto Carballes Baena, winning eight straight games to survive a stern opening test. Spain’s Carballes Baena led 4-3, 30/0 in the second set but lost 10 of the last 11 games as Zverev found a new level late on.

“[It was a] very important match for me, especially after the struggles in three-set matches this year,” the German said after leaving the court. “I think it was one or two points that decided the match and I’m obviously very happy with how it went.”

Zverev, who took a medical timeout for treatment on his left leg midway through the opening set, has dropped seven places to No. 23 this week in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings after losing the points he earned from reaching last year’s Madrid final. Champion at the event in 2018 an 2021, he has reached the quarter-finals or better in each of his previous five appearances in the Spanish capital.

He will next face French qualifier Hugo Grenier, a 7-6(5), 7-6(7) winner against Sebastian Korda earlier on Friday. The winner of that match will face either Carlos Alcaraz or Grigor Dimitrov in the last 16.

“I’m just looking forward to being back, playing these kind of matches, playing in the bigger stadiums,” Zverev added. “Especially here, I’ve said it before, this is my absolute favourite court in the whole world. We’ll see how it goes.”

Carballes Baena claimed the opening set against Zverev despite failing to convert on seven break chances. He troubled Zverev with depth and width, and moved within two games of victory when a majestic, flicked winner off his opponent’s overhead clinched the first break of the match.

But Zverev disrupted the pattern of the match to that point to to turn the match around in the nick of time. Finding more purchase off his backhand wing and attacking the net with repeated success, the German flipped the match on its head to run away with victory.

With nearly three hours on the clock after the second set, the matchup seemed destined to break the record for longest best-of-three-set contest in 2023. But Zverev raced through the final set to close out the match in three hours, 25 minutes — that time falling shy of the three hours, 31 minutes of play in Hubert Hurkacz’s second-round win against Thanasi Kokkinakis in the Miami second round.