Five things you did not know about Mischa Zverev
Yesterday, we saw two of the biggest upsets of the Australian Open as both the World No.1s, Andy Murray and Angelique Kerber crashed out of the Australian Open in the fourth round. While Murray lost to Mischa Zverev in four sets, Kerber was no match for Coco Vandeweghe as the 36th ranked American beat her in straight sets.
Nonetheless, Zverev’s triumph over Murray was one of the upsets of the competition with only Denis Istomin’s win over Novak Djokovic in the second round bettering that. Zverev’s famous win made him a sensation all over social media and his ranking will be expected to rise at least 16 places when the tournament concludes.
With only hours to go before the German takes on Roger Federer in the quarter-finals, let’s take a look at five things you did not know about the 29-year-old.
#5 He has a 3-1 head to head record against former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero
Zverev’s shock win over Murray was his first against the Scot in four meetings and his first ever win over a current World No. 1. He has beaten a few top 10 players throughout his career but one head-to-head record of his that stands out is that against 2003 French Open champion and former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Even though the Spaniard was way past his prime when Zverev beat him, his ranking was much better compared to the German’s on two out of three occasions.
The first time both these players met was at the now defunct PTT Thailand Open at Bangkok in 2006 when Ferrero was ranked 18th and Zverev was ranked 196th. Zverev clinched the match in three sets and went on to reach his first ATP quarter-final.
Their second meeting was in the second round of the 2008 Wimbledon Championships when Ferrero was ranked 21st and Zverev 92nd. The German won the first two sets 6-4 before the Spaniard retired during the third set due to a hamstring injury.
Their third meeting was in the final qualifying round of the Rome Masters when Ferrero was ranked 104th and Zverev 54th. Zverev came back from a set down to take the match in three sets and qualify for the main draw. This was the only instance when the Spaniard was ranked lower than Zverev. Ferrero, however, won their final encounter in the second round of the 2011 Barcelona Open in straight sets.