TENNIS – Germany’s Alexander Zverev fought through to the US Open’s third round yesterday, dispatching Alexandre Muller 6-4 7-6(5) 6-1 on a sweltering Louis Armstrong Stadium court.
The big-serving fourth seed blasted 15 aces and employed a drop-shot finesse at the net to preserve his hopes of capturing a career-first major after a runner-up finish at Roland Garros.
Zverev proved too much for world No. 77 Muller, who committed 41 unforced errors and battled through an apparent leg injury in brutal temperatures and high humidity at Flushing Meadows.
The German came out firing after a shaky round-one performance, breaking Muller’s serve in the first game before ultimately claiming the back-and-forth first set.
Clutching his upper right leg, Muller left the court for a lengthy medical time-out between sets but returned with a vengeance.
The resilient Frenchman stood two points from taking the second set but the world No. 4 fought back to take the final five points of a tiebreak, blasting a line-hugging forehand for the winner.
Zverev cruised through the third set, closing out the match with a final ace.
Meanwhile, Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen survived an early scare to overcome Russia’s Erika Andreeva 6-7(3) 6-1 6-2 to move into the third round.
Despite Andreeva taking an early lead and then clinching the tiebreak, Zheng clawed her way back into the contest on the back of a solid first serve as the seventh seed finished the match with 36 winners and 20 aces.
Big-hitting Frances Tiafoe and former finalist Madison Keys did their bit to boost American hopes when they both booked their tickets into the third round in convincing fashion.
The home stalwarts flew the American flag during the day session at Arthur Ashe Stadium where Keys, the 14th seed, beat Australia’s Maya Joint 6-4 6-0 while Tiafoe was leading 6-4 6-1 1-0 when Kazakhstan’s Alexander Shevchenko retired.
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