An action-packed Friday got underway in Indian Wells as fourth seed Alexander Zverev launched his campaign at the BNP Paribas Open with a commanding victory over former Top 10 Matteo Berrettini.
World number four Alexander Zverev delivered a flawless performance to sink Italian Matteo Berrettini with a 6-3, 6-4 win, booking his ticket into the third round at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
In his on-court interview, the 24-time ATP title holder commented: "I am very happy with the performance. Against Matteo, it is very difficult. I lost the past two matches against him.
"I have struggled in Indian Wells before, but I feel different this year. Hopefully, it is going to be a different result, and it was a good start."
In the third round, Zverev will face off against the 28th seed, Brandon Nakashima, or world No. 67 Camilo Ugo Carabelli.
As It Happened
The match set off action at Stadium I, where the German player delivered a dominant showing throughout the 71-minute encounter, dropping just six points behind his serve all match.
Also, the 28-year-old, clinical behind his serve, won 89 percent of points on his first serve and 82 percent on his second delivery, hitting 19 winners against 11 unforced errors.
Moreover, he did not face a single break point in the entire match, easily generating power on the forehand side to damage his long-time rival, short of his best tennis on Friday morning.
Berrettini, who had experienced full-body cramps at the end of a dramatic two-hour, 48-minute opening round against veteran Adrian Mannarino, couldn't keep up with the rhythm imposed by his opponent.
All his efforts to record his first hard-court win of the season, rallying from a set down to ultimately edge out the in-form Frenchman 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 on Wednesday, took a toll on the Italian player's fitness.
The former world No. 6, who left everything on the court, stressed, “At the beginning of the third, I started to feel a little bit cramping. I was a little bit surprised at the beginning, then I remembered that I was sick until three days ago, so that's why I was like, ‘Okay, that's normal.’
“That's what we do, we adjust, we try to fight our best, and that's what I did today.”
On Friday, Zverev proved too strong for the 2021 Wimbledon finalist.
Further speaking about his adversary, Zverev outlined: "He is somebody that is extremely aggressive, massive forehand, massive serve.
"When you back off a little bit, it is very difficult against him, but today I thought I was the one pushing, I was the one being aggressive."
The Hamburg native was seeded to meet fifth seed Lorenzo Musetti in the quarterfinals; however, Marton Fucsovics stunned the world No. 5 in straight sets to reach the third round.
Still on Zverev's path is another Italian, Flavio Cobolli, whom he could clash against in the fourth round.
The 15th seed fought back to power past in-form Miomir Kecmanovic 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, just shy of two hours on Court 6.
Two-time semifinalist Jannik Sinner will open proceedings against Czech qualifier Dalibor Svrcina in the night session, seeking his first title in Tennis Paradise.