(New York-Flushing Meadows) - Fourth seed Alexander Zverev advances to the third round at the US Open with a straight set win over French wild card Alexandre Muller in Louis Armstrong Stadium, Wednesday at Flushing Meadows.
Former 2020 US Open runner-up Alexander Zverev secured his spot into the major’s third round by edging French wild card Alexandre Muller 6-4, 7-6, 6-1 in two hours and 26 minutes under challenging weather conditions, as temperature and humidity reached high levels in New York on Wednesday afternoon.
In his ninth appearance at the US Open, the German, who leads the ATP Tour with 54 wins this season, 25 alone on hard courts, found his way through a close encounter not necessarily reflected in the numbers.
In the first set, Zverev put to good use his booming serve, breaking twice before closing 6-4.
Moreover, he took risks, charging at the net to nail 6 of 8 approaches against an inspired world No. 77.
The second set was as tight as they come, leading to a tiebreaker in which Muller pulled an extra gear to open a 5-2 advantage, forcing the fourth seed to react fast, closing out 7-6(5) to stay the course.
The small margins that had separated the players until then ended when the 27-year-old from Hamburg took control of the third set, halting the Frenchman, yet to progress to the third round at a slam, impressive performance.
In his on-court interview, Zverev outlined: “I thought he played some amazing tennis. Especially at the end of the second set, I thought he was the better player than me. But I found a way, and of course, I am happy to be done in three sets to have some rest as it is very hot and tough conditions.”
He hit 43 winners against 29 unforced errors compared to the Poissy-born player, 27 and 41, respectively.
In addition, the world No. 4 won 84 percent of points on his first serve, converting 4 of 12 break point opportunities.
The Italian Open reigning champion will next meet Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry, who battled across five sets to beat countryman Francisco Cerundolo after a marathon four-hour contest.
During the post-match press conference, Sports Pundit asked the French Open finalist to share his thoughts on his upcoming round.
“I played him one time before, at the French Open last year, and it was a quarterfinal match, and I thought he was playing the best tennis of his life back then. But yeah, he’s a young player, very aggressive, very tall, as well; somebody who moves very well for his size,” Zverev asserted.
“I’m expecting a tough match, for sure. I hope I can still improve my game. I can still make myself play better and better every match, and we’ll see how it will be after tomorrow.”
Watch the full press conference:
