Zverev only used four of his 18 break chances. In the first round, the Olympic champion was slow to get into the game against the 23-year-old from Kempen.
While Zverev made four double mistakes, Altmaier played cheekily and kept his service. So it went into the tiebreak.
But then Zverev had the upper hand with 7: 3 – which made Altmaier difficult. In the second set, the 24-year-old, third in the world rankings, quickly pulled away and made it 6-1 in just 29 minutes.
Australian Open
Becker encourages Zverev: “Sascha, that wasn’t so bad!”
AN HOUR AGO
In the third round Altmaier, who after his sensational round of 16 entry at the French Open 2020 is only playing his second Grand Slam tournament, caught himself again.
1st round: Zverev wrestles Altmaier down – highlights
The 23-year-old even managed with his first and only breakball to take the serve away from Zverev to make it 3: 2 and finally to force the almost overwhelming opponent into the tie-break a second time.
Zverev dissatisfied with himself
There, however, the Hamburg player converted his fifth match point after 2:38 hours of play. In the second round, Zverev meets Australian local hero John Millman in the hunt for his first Grand Slam title.
“Not much went according to plan – except that I won,” Zverev analyzed in the winner’s interview on the court. The 24-year-old had previously made 43 unforced errors and only scored 38 percent of the points with his second serve. However, Zverev dominated all other statistics – including those of the aces (14: 1).
You don’t see that often! Altmaier reaches over the net and scores
“It wasn’t the perfect match, but it was a good one,” he said EurosportExpert Boris Becker: “He started too passively, but then improved. It was great for me how he developed his offensive qualities. Second set – it couldn’t be better. In the third set he was too relaxed and took the reins drop it a bit.”
“It’s a performance that I have to build on. It wasn’t a brilliant achievement from me – no question. I have to start playing better,” confirmed Zverev in the Eurosportinterview the impression that there is still a little sand in the works.
But he also said: “It’s a first-round match at a Grand Slam at the beginning of the year – I can’t play it perfectly yet. If I play perfectly now, something is wrong.”
did i win Zverev sleeps after match point
Becker praises Altmaier
Becker had praise for Altmaier: “That was à la bonheur! He did it well. If he now gets more chances to play such matches at such a level, his own form will also improve. Overall, it was a very entertaining match .”
The 23-year-old from Kempen saw “where his playful limit is, where Sascha Zverev is even better. On the other hand, he had great moments, reached the tie-break twice – you have to do that first. For him it was another one Confirmation that he’s on the right track. Needs to stay injury-free now and show the consistency throughout the year that he showed in much of today’s match.”
Becker encourages Zverev: “Sascha, that wasn’t so bad!”
Altmaier had worked his way up to 97th place in the world rankings through many participations in Challenger tournaments and thus “earned” his place in the main draw of the Australian Open.
Zverev mit Medvedev
After the expulsion of world number one Novak Djokovic, Zverev is next to US Open champion Daniil Medvedev (Russia / No. 2) the biggest title contender in Melbourne – please have the chance to take over number one in the world rankings by winning the tournament.
In this respect, Altmaier was only a first hurdle. “The first official match is always a kind of indicator to determine: How far am I? This first week is important to get in shape if you have hopes of winning the entire tournament,” said Becker. Until then, it’s more like: “It doesn’t always have to look nice as long as you win.”
Zverev saw it that way too. “You don’t play your best tennis right away here – unless you’re Roger or Rafa. I’m not perfect,” said the German, playing on Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, record winners with Djokovic Grand Slam (missing injured in Melbourne) on.
(with SID)
Crashing return: Zverev wins tie-break against Altmaier
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