The German third seed is vying for his first major title at the Australian Open 2022.
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German tennis star Alexander Zverv held his nerves to overcome his unseeded compatriot Daniel Altmaier 7-6(3), 6-1, 7-6(1) in the first round of Australian Open 2022 on Monday. The third seed is contesting for his first major title. He displayed his brilliance and patience in the opening round to register 53 winners and come from a break down in the third set to advance after two hours and 38 minutes in their first ATP meeting. He admitted that he couldn’t materialise his plan in an eye-opening first round affair but believes to continue growing better as the first Grand Slam of the year progresses.
“Not much went to plan today to be honest except that I won,” Zverev said in his on-court interview. “But that is how it is sometimes. It is the first round of a very long tournament and you are not always going to play your best tennis. It was a good match for me to get into the tournament and hopefully the next round will be better.”
The German has shown his dominance since the Wimbledon last year where he held a 36-5 record. His fine run helped him to capture titles in Cincinnati and Vienna and also triumphed at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin in the second half of the season. However, he still remains bereft of a Grand Slam title at the age of 24, with plenty of important matches on his way.
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His best result at the Australian Open came in 2020 where he entered the semi-finals. He will next take on John Millman, which is expected to be a relatively easy contest, after the Australian moved past Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 in two hours and 52 minutes in his opening round.
Zverev is currently making his seventh appearance at the Australian Open and has reached the second round of the tournament for six times straight. It will be historic if the German clinches the Grand Slam in Melbourne as he will become the joint-youngest to do so at the age of 24 along with World No.1 and defending champion Novak Djovokic who achieved the feat in 2012.
The Tokyo 2020 gold medallist will also become the fifth German to clinch a major trophy since Boris Becker triumphed in Melbourne in 1996. His best result at the Grand Slam, incidentally, came at the US Open where he reached the summit clash.
