Alexander Zverev smiles cheekily after missing first 1st serve in 35 minutes in Madrid Open 3R
Alexander Zverev is currently competing at the 2023 Madrid Open. He defeated Roberto Carballes Baena in the second round to advance to the third round where he squared off against Hugo Grenier.
The German easily secured his place in the last-16 with a straight-sets win over the French qualifier. The match was over in 57 minutes, as Grenier was defeated 6-1, 6-0, with Zverev losing only one game in the two sets.
Zverev served brilliantly against Grenier and made 86% of his first serves. Remarkably, he missed his first serve for the first time 35 minutes into the match and gave a cheeky smile to the camera.
Check out the video here:
35 minutes in...
@AlexZverev finally misses a first serve 😅
#MMOpen https://t.co/WjahiNavAv
Zverev's colleague Stefanos Tsitsipas demonstrated some magic with his first serve as well during his second-round win over Dominic Thiem at the Madrid Open. Tsitsipas hit 39 consecutive first serves from late in the first set to early in the third, winning 88% (50/57) of his total first-serve points in the two-hour, 19-minute contest.
"I am happy that I kept my composure and that I am through" - Alexander Zverev
Alexander Zverev stated in his on-court interview after the third-round win that he was happy to keep his composure and see the result through. He also said that perhaps his opponent, Hugo Grenier, was slightly nervous because it was his first appearance in the third round of a Masters 1000 tournament.
"Today I felt great. Maybe Hugo was a bit nervous, first time in the third round at a [ATP] Masters [1000] and that is big for any player. In general I am happy that I kept my composure and that I am through," Zverev said.
The German, who will next face the winner of the match between Grigor Dimitrov and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, also spoke about his upcoming opponent. Zverev stated that the match will be difficult regardless of who he faces and that if Alcaraz is there, it will be a match that people will look forward to.
"Both of those players are great players. It is going to be difficult no matter who it is against. Of course, with Carlos, that would be a matchup people would look forward to. We played in the final here last year, played a massive match at [Roland Garros] before I got injured," Zverev said.
Zverev and Alcaraz met in the final of the 2022 Madrid Open, with the Spaniard taking home the title.