World No. 16 Alexander Zverev qualified for the round of 32 of the Masters 1000 in Monte-Carlo by defeating Alexander Bublik in three sets. He will face Roberto Bautista Agut on Wednesday.
The last time he had won a match on clay was on May 31 once morest Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals of Roland-Garros. Three days later, Alexander Zverev suffered a serious ankle injury as he fought an epic battle once morest Rafael Nadal. This Tuesday, the German player, down to 16th in the world, rediscovered the joys of the ocher surface and he eliminated Alexander Bublik (53rd) for his entry into the running at the Masters 1000 in Monte-Carlo.
Zverev won the Alexander battle by winning 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 in 2:01, once morest the Kazakh, from whom he had never taken a set in two confrontations (in Rotterdam in 2021 and in Montpellier in 2022). The former winner of the Masters will be able to thank his opponent for having completely cracked in the last game of the meeting to offer him three match points. And he did not miss the opportunity to convert his eleventh break point of the match (out of 17 opportunities) to clinch victory.
A first match since 2018 once morest Bautista Agut
In the first set, however, it was Alexander Zverev who suffered the most on his serve, conceding it twice, 2-1 and 3-2 (he had broken in the meantime). Bublik then converted his first set point at 5-3. But the German quickly recovered in the second set, leading 3-0. And if he lost his serve at 3-1, he immediately took over Bublik’s at 3-2, then at 5-2, to equalize at one set everywhere. Everything was therefore played in the third, where the Kazakh immediately unbroken following losing his service (3-2).
He then missed two balls 4-3 on the German’s serve, before cracking in the last game. So here is Alexander Zverev in the round of 16, where he will challenge world No. 29 Roberto Bautista Agut for the first time since October 2018 (4-2 for the German in confrontations).
