Zverev Tops Nakashima To Return To Fourth Round

Alexander Zverev is making the most of his second life at Roland Garros. After saving a match point and coming back from two sets down to beat Sebastian Baez in the second round, he moved past #NextGenATP American Brandon Nakashima in straight sets on Friday.

The German earned a hard-fought 7-6(2), 6-3, 7-6(5) victory on Court Suzanne Lenglen to advance to the fourth round for the fifth straight year in Paris. He reached the semi-finals last year and the quarters in 2018 and 2019.

“I think I raised my level today,” Zverev said in an on-court interview. “I prefer this [compared to the second-round thriller]. This is much better for me. I don’t lose too much hair, I can still grow old,” he joked. The third seed went on to praise the crowd, which contributed to the match with a Mexican wave.

The roar of victory 🦁@AlexZverev defeats Brandon Nakashima 7-6(2), 6-3, 7-6(5) to advance to the fourth round for the fifth consecutive year.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/fHFiaLIQqW

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 27, 2022

A tight contest included just three breaks of serve, including a trade of breaks midway through the third. Zverev saved a pair of break points in each of the first two sets but dropped serve for the only time after edging ahead in the final set.

A night of strong serving ended in a tie-break dominated by the returner, as seven of the 12 points went against serve. From 2/4 down in the tie-break, Zverev locked down from the baseline to edge past the American, closing the match in style with a backhand winner — one of his 50 winners in the two-hour, 48-minute contest.

Nakashima, who earned his first tour-level clay win last month in Barcelona, drops to 0-7 against the Top 20. His defeat leaves three #NextGenATP stars standing in Paris: Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune.

Zverev, who could meet Alcaraz in the quarter-finals, advances to face Bernabe Zapata Miralles on Sunday. It will be the first ATP Head2Head meeting for the pair.

Spanish qualifier Zapata Miralles continued his dream run by moving past American John Isner 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3 in a third-round thriller. The World No. 131 recovered from squandering a 5/2 lead and four match points in the fourth set to eventually advance after three hours and 31 minutes. He is the first Spanish qualifier to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam since recording started in 1983.

The 25-year-old, who upset Americans Michael Mmoh and Taylor Fritz earlier this week, is making his second appearance in Paris. The three-time ATP Challenger Tour champion lost to countryman Carlos Alcaraz in the first round last year.