Sixth-seeded German Alexander Zverev moved into the Roland Garros fourth round on Friday with a 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 victory over Laslo Djere of Serbia under a closed roof on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
The 24-year-old saved three set points at 4-5 in the second set and subsequently won nine of the next 11 games to improve to a 21-8 match record on the season, which includes two titles at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC (d. Tsitsipas) and the Mutua Madrid Open (d. Berrettini).
“I was down 3-5, 40-0 on his serve and you don’t always come back from that score,” said Zverev. “He played a fantastic match, he is playing great on this surface so I knew I had to play much, much better than the first two rounds and I did that today.
“I am happy that the further we go in the tournament the better I start hopefully playing. This is the main goal of my tennis career, to win Grand Slams and I feel in the past year-and-a-half I am on a very good [path] again and I hope I can continue.”
Zverev, who will next face former World No. 4 Kei Nishikori of Japan, struck 31 winners and converted seven of 10 break points for victory in two hours and eight minutes.
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Zverev reeled off the first four games against the Serbian, hitting with great depth and precision from the baseline as Djere struggled to cope. However, after claiming the opener, Zverev suffered a dip at the start of the second set with Djere breaking to love to move 2-0 ahead as the 24-year-old started to play more tentatively. At 5-4 though, Djere failed to convert a 40/0 lead as Zverev saved three set points.
From there on, it was one way traffic with Zverev winning nine of the next 11 games. Djere, who looked depleted of energy after his mammoth five set victory over Miomir Kecmanovic in the second round, is now 13-13 for the season, with his best result a final appearance at the Sardegna Open (l. to Sonego) in April.
The 24-year-old saved three set points at 4-5 in the second set and subsequently won nine of the next 11 games to improve to a 21-8 match record on the season, which includes two titles at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC (d. Tsitsipas) and the Mutua Madrid Open (d. Berrettini).
“I was down 3-5, 40-0 on his serve and you don’t always come back from that score,” said Zverev. “He played a fantastic match, he is playing great on this surface so I knew I had to play much, much better than the first two rounds and I did that today.
“I am happy that the further we go in the tournament the better I start hopefully playing. This is the main goal of my tennis career, to win Grand Slams and I feel in the past year-and-a-half I am on a very good [path] again and I hope I can continue.”
Zverev, who will next face former World No. 4 Kei Nishikori of Japan, struck 31 winners and converted seven of 10 break points for victory in two hours and eight minutes.
Follow Live Scores At RolandGarros.com
Zverev reeled off the first four games against the Serbian, hitting with great depth and precision from the baseline as Djere struggled to cope. However, after claiming the opener, Zverev suffered a dip at the start of the second set with Djere breaking to love to move 2-0 ahead as the 24-year-old started to play more tentatively. At 5-4 though, Djere failed to convert a 40/0 lead as Zverev saved three set points.
From there on, it was one way traffic with Zverev winning nine of the next 11 games. Djere, who looked depleted of energy after his mammoth five set victory over Miomir Kecmanovic in the second round, is now 13-13 for the season, with his best result a final appearance at the Sardegna Open (l. to Sonego) in April.