By Chris Oddo | Sunday May 27, 2018
No.2-seeded Alexander Zverev racked up a quick and easy victory on Sunday to book his spot in the second round at Paris.
Photo Source: Matthew Stockman/Getty
Blink and you missed it.
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Alexander Zverev made sure he didn’t blink and suffer another first-round upset at Roland Garros on Sunday by pounding Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis into submission on Court Suzanne-Lenglen. Unlike last year when he was knocked out of the draw by Fernando Verdasco in five sets in round one, the German recorded an impressive 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 victory in 69 minutes that will allow the No.2 seed to save some energy for the later rounds at Roland Garros in 2018.
"Its always good to get a straight-sets win at the start of the tournament," Zverev said after the match. "I was very happy out there and I'm looking forward to the next one."
Zverev will face either Dusan Lajovic or Jiri Vesely in the second round.
The four games lost were by far the best result that the 21-year-old German has ever put forth. He had never lost less than nine games in a major and he had never won in straight sets at Roland Garros, but on Sunday he was quick to take charge on Berankis.
Zverev won 44 of 52 points on serve, never faced a break point, and broke 7 times on 12 opportunities. He won 27 of 31 first-serve points, and perhaps more impressively, 17 of 21 second-serve points.
In total, Zverev cracked 29 winners against 15 unforced errors and won 81 of 119 points. He has now won 14 of his last 15 matches on clay, losing only to Rafael Nadal in last week's Rome final.
"On clay especially I've been playing well," said Zverev. "The worst I've done was the semifinals of a Masters in Monaco--that's not bad preparation. I've won two tournaments, made the final of Rome, losing to Rafa in a close match. I feel good."
Verdasco Edges Nishioka in Thriller
Fernando Verdasco won in five sets for the 24th time, defeating a cramping Yoshihito Nishioka to book his spot in the second round, 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-3, 6-7(3), 7-5 in four hours and 22 minutes.
Matteo Berrettini of Italy and Corentin Moutet each notched their first Grand Slam wins on Sunday. Berrettini (22 years old) defeated Oscar Otte of Belgium in four sets, while Moutet (19 years old) knocked off 39-year-old Ivo Karlovic in three.