Australian Open: Alexander Zverev Survives Frustrating Opening

 

German ace Alexander Zverev could not help smashing his racket en route to his four-setter opening game win against American player Marcon Giron on Monday. 

The sixth-seeded player survived an early scare from the American who outlasted him in the opening set after battling through a tiebreak before he rallied in the tiebreak break of the second and claimed the remaining two sets to win by 6-7(8), 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-2 and progressed to the next round. 

"He had me on the ropes and the second set could have gone either way," said Zverev. "I didn't want to go two sets down, I am happy to get through and in the end, I played better. The first round of a Slam is never easy,"

Zverev served 16 aces, hit 40 winners, and converted six out of 15 break advantages against Giron and will play Maxime Cressy in the next round.