Sure, a tidy three-set match that lasted less than two hours would have been nice. Alexander Zverev still could have tied his best Grand Slam result by reaching the fourth round at Roland Garros. But the 21-year-old wouldn't have had to expend so much energy to advance past Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, whom he beat 6-2, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(3), 7-5, saving a match point at 4-5 in the decider, in just under four hours.
But, in truth, how long it takes Zverev to advance in Paris doesn't seem to bother him much, at least not now, as the first week of Roland Garros nears its close.
“I'm trying to win matches. If it takes me three sets, great. If it takes me five sets, that's also great. But I'm trying to win. That's all that matters. It doesn't matter how long it goes. It doesn't matter how much time I'll spend on court. It doesn't matter if it goes 9-7 in the fifth or it goes 6-1, 6-1, 6-2. For me, it's the same,” Zverev said.
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“Now I'm in the next round, and that's all that matters. I'm going to play in two days' time, and that's it. There is nothing more to it.”
It wasn't as if Zverev preferred to stay on court. At times, Dzumhur just put up that good of a fight, drop shotting the 6'6” German and forcing him all over the terre battue. The 26th seed, who won his first two ATP World Tour titles last year, matched Zverev in winners – 51 each.
“That's what he does. That's what he's known for. A lot of drop shots, and the drop shots he was hitting were kind of ridiculous,” Zverev said. “He's one of the biggest competitors that we have. He's a tough opponent no matter where you play him, and especially on this surface and especially over long matches, because he's so fit. I was not surprised.”
Zverev persevered, though, and is into his second Grand Slam fourth round (Wimbledon 2017). The German has won three ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles but never reached a Grand Slam quarter-final. He's also won back-to-back five-set matches for the first time at a Grand Slam and improved to 6-5 in five-set matches.
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“It was important to kind of see for myself that I can win back-to-back five-set matches and both very difficult, physical matches. I was feeling fine physically, so for me that gives me a lot of confidence going deep into the fifth set, going long matches on this kind of surface. And knowing that I'm fit enough to last as long as I want,” Zverev said.
The right-hander had lost during his last third-round match at a Grand Slam, at the Australian Open when he fell in five sets to reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion Hyeon Chung. But Zverev is moving on in Paris, and he has a formula for continued success.
Zverev said: “It's all about finding a way. Even if you're not playing your best, it's all about finding a way to win and finding the right solution to the right moment.”
from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/2LSg3x8
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