Miami Open: Alexander Zverev receives clap against Taro Daniel
Alexander Zverev (ATP No. 15) was eliminated at the start of the ATP Masters tournament in Miami. He was defeated by the Japanese Taro Daniel in two sets.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Mar 25, 2023, 05:57 am
There are those days when nothing fits together - and Alexander Zverev caught one in Miami. From the point of view of the 25-year-old, it was 0: 6, 4: 6 against the world number 97. Taro Daniel in the second round of the 2023 Miami Open.
In round 1, Zverev had a bye.
Hardly anything worked against Daniel, especially at the beginning, in the first set Zverev only scored six points in three of his own service games - Daniel, on the other hand, played big. In the second set, Daniel managed the decisive break to make it 3:2. Zverev didn't get his own break chance throughout the match, but made tons of mistakes without need and couldn't find a rhythm.
Taro Daniel: "Letting opponents play badly"
What his opponent also noticed - "he had problems in the first set and I didn't want to give him his rhythm back", analyzed Daniel after the win . "Sometimes it's about letting the other player continue playing badly. It's a bit of a dirty fight then," said the 30-year-old veteran.
Who seems to be in good form this year anyway: in Indian Wells he had already taken Matteo Berrettini out of the turmoil and then only narrowly lost to Cameron Norrie. Previously in Acapulco, he had beaten Casper Ruud, fourth in the world rankings. "Sometimes you don't know why things turn around and you're successful. You just keep going and it fits. My plan is to keep getting more wins like this."
Alexander Zverev still up and down after a long injury break
Zverev, on the other hand, is still fighting for consistency after his comeback, he only celebrated his return at the beginning of the year after the serious ligament injury at the French Open 2022.
And they actually showed increasing form recently, with the semi-finals in Dubai and a strong performance (near three-set defeat) against Daniil Medvedev in Indian Wells.
Now the clay court preparation begins for him.
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