The fourth-seeded German had little difficulty in his opening match to ease past Tallon Griekspoor in straight sets.
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Alexander Zverev continued his impressive run of late as he overcame qualifier Tallon Griekspoor 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 in the opening round. The fourth-seeded German began his quest for a first Grand Slam title in commanding fashion, firing 20 aces and winning 77 per cent (37/48) of his first-service points to advance in 94 minutes. Recently, Zverev reached the semifinals of the Roland Garros before losing out to Stefanos Tsitsipas. He has won titles at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC and the Mutua Madrid Open so far this year. The German will next play Norbert Gombos or Tennys Sandgren.
“It is great to see everything slowly going back to normal. The moment I walked out onto this court made me very happy, to see all the people here,” Zverev said. “I felt comfortable on the court. It is great we have a roof on court one now. “Wimbledon is such a historic tournament, and they keep on improving, trying to make it better for the players and the public, and that is why everyone loves this tournament.”
Zverev’s best performance at The Championships came in 2017 when he reached the fourth round. Griekspoor started briskly and gave the German an early scare but the 24-year-old survived two break points in the opening game. He then gained control as he powered his way into a 5-1 lead. Even though he was pegged back to 5-3, Zverev saw out the set on his serve.
The roof was closed in the early stage of the second set due to rain. It was the German who started on the front foot. Griekspoor began to commit errors as Zverev moved further ahead, breaking twice to establish his superiority. The third set was a mere formality as the 24-year-old lost just one game on his way to sealing the set and the match in the process.
It was a dramatic return to singles action at the All England Club for two-time former champion Andy Murray. He overcame a late wobble to beat 24th seed Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 in the first round at Wimbledon.
After winning the opening two sets comfortably, Murray led 5-0 in the third set. But an incredible swing in momentum saw the match reach the fourth set. He somehow prevailed in that set to win the match in three hours and 32 minutes. “I definitely should have finished it up a lot sooner than what I did,” Murray said. “[But] I don’t think there are that many players that would have won that fourth set.”
Murray, currently No. 118 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, was making his first Wimbledon singles appearance since 2017. “I think I played well up until probably 5-3 in the third set. That’s never happened to me before in my career, being three breaks, a serve up and two sets to love up. Never had that happen before,” Murray said. “But [those are] the sorts of things that can happen when you haven’t played any matches. Things can get away from you a little bit quick.”
Later, Basilashvili said, “It’s an unbelievable effort I think for him after surgery, after so many comebacks to come back and fight. He fights unbelievably, and I was expecting that. We all know how big [of a] fighter he is on court. Well done to him.”
