Australian Open: victories every second - a successful start for the problem children Kerber and Zverev
Angelique Kerber and Alexander Zverev reach the second round at the Australian Open without losing a set. Zverev causes great enthusiasm after the victory.
by SID
last edit: Jan 22, 2020, 11:12 am
A good half an hour before midnight it was a matter of seconds: first Alexander Zverev used his first match ball in the Margaret Court Arena for a confident opening win at the Australian Open, a few moments later he was followed by Angelique Kerber in the big Rod Laver Arena their third match ball in the second round. After excruciating days of uncertainty, the appearances of the two problem children on the night shift of the second day of the tournament encouraged the next round.
Zverev caused a bang immediately after his 6: 4, 7: 6 (4), 6: 3 against the uncomfortable Italian Marco Cecchinato: To the enthusiasm of the visitors, he announced that for every win in Melbourne 10,000 Australian dollars (approx. 6200 euros ) want to donate to those affected by the bush fires in Australia. In the event that he also wins the tournament on February 2, the 22-year-old from Hamburg even wants to hand over his entire prize money: 4.12 million Australian dollars, the equivalent of 2.55 million euros.
Zverev has everything under control
While Kerber kept cool in her 6: 2, 6: 2 against the often too impetuous Italian qualifier Elisabetta Cocciaretto, Zverev also showed a mature performance against the 77th in the world rankings. Especially in the critical phases of the match, he seemed very focused, in contrast to his three missed matches at the ATP Cup, he was not upset. He received a break in all three sets but never lost the thread. "I felt like I was in control," he said happily.
Even the serve worked so well this time at Zverev that even Eurosport expert Boris Becker was full of praise: "84 percent first serve, only four double mistakes - please keep going." Zverev did not want to hide the fact that he still had room for improvement. "I actually always make it difficult for myself," he said after the match in a cheerful mood, but also emphasized: "Hopefully I will be better in the next games than in the last few years here." Coming opponent is Belarusian Igor Gerassimov.
The first match will probably have a little aftermath for Zverev, because he came on the pitch in a training t-shirt with a sponsor label that was much too large. Although he changed hastily, referee Jaime Campistol (Spain) immediately informed him: "I have to report that." Zverev will probably be fined for the textile offense, but he took the matter with humor. "I noticed that too late," he said to his faux pas.
Keber barely feels the thigh
Kerber's concerns before the tournament also initially proved to be unfounded. Her thigh injury, which had made itself felt again at the preparation tournament in Adelaide, hardly played a role in her "solid start". "I hardly noticed anything," said the Melbourne winner of 2016, who now meets Australian Priscilla Hon. For Kerber it is the first big tournament with the new trainer Dieter Kindlmann. She had brought the 37-year-old Allgäu into her team in November to find the connection to the world leaders after a weak year.
In addition to Kerber and Zverev, Laura Siegemund (Metzingen) and Peter Gojowczyk (Munich) reached the second round on the second day of the Australian Open. In contrast, Cedric-Marcel Stebe (Vaihingen / Enz), Dominik Koepfer (Furtwangen), Antonia Lottner (Düsseldorf) and Tatjana Maria (Bad Saulgau) were eliminated.
laverarena