The story continues. Zverev faces an unpredictable opponent in the second round

Home tennis player Alexander Zverev is one of the most watched tennis players at the tournament in Halle. And not only at the tournament. There are not many tennis players on the ATP circuit with comparable results. The Olympic champion has been playing great lately and has certainly not given up his assault on the position of successor to stars like Djokovic, Nadal and Federer. He plans to finally triumph at Halle this year.

Alexander Zverev is still going for his goal. The German tennis player has been part of the ATP top ten since the summer of 2017. If it wasn’t for an injury at last year’s French Open, he would be attacking the very top positions.

However, the twenty-six-year-old tennis player managed to come back after a long break and is climbing back up the rankings. He is currently ranked 22nd. The tournament in Halle is important for him and his desire to finally win a title here this year could be at the birth of one of the biggest tennis stories of the week.

Proof of quality

Austria’s Thiem only kept pace with Zverev at the start of the first set of the opening match at the most prestigious tennis event in Germany. From 2:2, the home player won 12 balls out of 13 exchanges, rebounded to 5:2 and won the opening set 6:3.

In the second set, he missed the first chance for a break point, but at 4:4 Zverev scored and after 6:3, 6:4 he advanced to the second round. The German tennis player outclassed his Austrian opponent, among other things, in the quality of his serve. He recorded seven aces against Thiem’s two and, unlike Thiem, did not make a single double fault.

The 2020 Olympic champion enjoyed the match on Centre Court and hopes to enjoy even more matches and wins there. “It was my first match on grass after two years, so it was not easy for me,” he expressed the importance of his victory to the tournament’s official website.

The win, of course, mainly means Zverev’s continuation at his home event. He will face Canadian Shapovalov for a spot in the top eight in today’s duel.

Today’s opponent

Denis Shapovalov has already been part of the ATP top ten in his career. He now occupies the 27th position and is thus a relatively close ranking neighbour of Zverev. Eurosport expert Mats Wilander compared him to two tennis icons a few years ago. Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

Several factors led Wilander to make this comparison. Shapoval’s technique, service and last but not least there is another connection with the king of clay. The Canadian also plays with his left hand.

The 24-year-old Shapovalov can play excellent tournaments. Two years ago, he reached the semifinals of Wimbledon. Last fall, he reached the final of two events. He’s beaten Nadal, Fritz and Zverev. Last year at the Australian Open, he didn’t allow the German to win a single set.

This year, however, has been a disappointment for Shapovalov. For the first time in eight years he has a negative match record. It will be difficult for him to defy the upstart Zverev.

Finally..

Denis Shapovalov can be a very troublesome opponent and will be looking to break the underperformance of this year. However, Zverev will be the favourite in the early evening clash and it would be a big disappointment for him to end his tenure in Halle at this stage.

Source: ATP, Terrawortmann Open, Eurosport