ATP Masters Indian Wells: Alexander Zverev without a double swing against Andy Murray
Alexander Zverevwill play his third-round match against Andy Murra y today at around 11 p.m. at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells. The double assignment with Jan-Lennard Struff fell victim to the weather.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Oct 12, 2021, 11:05 am
In principle, Alexander Zverev is not considered to be an early riser, so it can be assumed that longer evenings do not affect the mind of the Olympic champion. On Monday, Zverev should have served in doubles with Jan-Lennard Struff, but the weather in Indian Wells did not play along. After several postponements, the match between the two Germans against Rohan Bopanna and Denis Shapovalov was taken off the schedule.
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Colleagues Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz, who secured a place in the quarter-finals earlier in the day, had better luck. Krawietz with Horia Tecau, with whom he also has good chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals in Turin. Pütz at the side of Michael Venus, with whom he was able to defeat the pair of Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury, who were seeded in second position. Krawietz / Tecau and Pütz / Venus are now playing against each other.
Zverev with the swing of the Laver Cup
Alexander Zverev's focus is primarily on the individual. The start against Jenson Brooksby was promising, apart from a small phase of weakness in the second round, Zverev seemed to have taken the momentum of the US Open and the Laver Cup with him to California. Now the third comparison with Andy Murray is pending (from around 11 p.m. live on Sky and in our live ticker), Zverev is still waiting for the first win against his predecessor as an Olympic individual champion.
To what extent the special conditions in Indian Wells will play a role remains to be seen. On Monday, strong winds whirled the balls in unfamiliar trajectories in the early games, which could cause problems, especially for a praise artist like Andy Murray. Alexander Zverev's playground is probably better built for strong wind conditions, the native of Hamburg is a master of the flat ball.
Sinner without a fight in the second round
The other sporting prospects for Zverev are not bad. Should he pass against Murray, there would be a duel with either Kevin Anderson or Gael Monfils in the round of 16. The two veterans are currently on the up again, but both the French and the South African should stumble against a Zverev in normal form.
After that, things could become Italian for Zverev: Jannik Sinner is already in the round of 16 after John Isner's withdrawal, Matteo Berrettini could follow suit today with a win against Taylor Fritz. In order to make a quarter-final against one of the two Azzurri, Zverev first has to solve the Murray riddle today.
Here the single tableau in Indian Wells
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