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Alexander Zverev, who has fallen to No. 17 in the world, defeated South Korea’s Soonwoo Kwon in two sets (6-4, 7-6) Tuesday in the first round of the ATP 500 indoor tournament. Defending champion Felix Auger-Aliassime also won convincingly (6-2, 6-3) in his first match against Italian Lorenzo Sonego.
ZVEREV, SERVICE INCLUDED
He is progressing slowly but surely. After months of downtime due to a serious ankle injury and an early but logical elimination in the second round of the Australian Open, Alexander Zverev is in Rotterdam this week to continue his rebuilding.
And he put in a rather interesting performance in the first round on Tuesday, beating South Korea’s Soonwoo Kwon, ranked 63rd in the world, in two sets (6-4, 7-6) and 1 hour and 40 minutes of play. He hopes to win a second time – which would be a first for him in 2023 – against Tallon Griekspoor in his next match.
Although he is still far from his best, Zverev was able to rely on one of his great strengths: his first serve. With 84% of his points won behind the ball (and 75% of his firsts), 10 aces and no double faults, the Olympic champion was safe on his serves. And since he had the good idea to break right off the bat, he won the first set. It was when he served for the set that he had to save his only three break points of the match.
Solid on the backhand, but more tentative on the forehand and still hesitant in his forward play, Zverev continued to rely on his first serve in the second set. The relaunchers didn’t get a chance and the German was able to make the difference in the tie-break. The current 17th-ranked player in the world has made progress in his moves, and has thus gained a valuable victory in his quest for confidence.
AUGER-ALIASSIME AVEC AUTORITÉ
Dans la foulée, Félix Auger-Aliassime a fait forte impression. Déçu par son Open d’Australie, le Canadien passait un test d’entrée mardi face à Lorenzo Sonego, 60e joueur mondial, et il l’a réussi avec mention. Tenant du titre et tête de série numéro 3 du tournoi, il s’est imposé en deux manches (6-2, 6-3) et 1h22 de jeu. Au 2e tour, il sera opposé à un Français en forme en ce moment et quart-de-finaliste à Montpellier : Grégoire Barrère.
Comme Zverev avant lui, “F2A” a rapidement retrouvé ses marques en indoor, des conditions dans lesquelles il avait brillé l’automne dernier (trois titres d’affilée), ce qui lui avait valu de se qualifier pour le Masters. Jamais breaké, il a fait la différence dans le 6e jeu à la relance, convertissant sa première occasion (4-2). Pour se la procurer, il avait glissé une remise courte croisée parfaite après une course effrénée vers l’avant.
Ce break a fait office de déclic : entre 2-2 et 6-2, 1-0, le Canadien a enchaîné cinq jeux, écartant au passage les deux seules occasions adverses à la relance d’entrée de seconde manche. Globalement solide et appliqué (21 coups gagnants pour 9 petites fautes directes), il n’a jamais tremblé, bien aidé par un service très performant (86 % de réussite derrière sa première, 13 aces).
