Alexander Zverev took a nasty tumble midway through the second set of his match against Cameron Norrie but recovered to defeat the home hope 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(15) on Saturday at Wimbledon. The German tweaked his left knee and twice required treatment on Centre Court, but steadied to see off the British No. 2 following a marathon tie-break.
Zverev converted on his sixth match point of the tie-break after saving five set points. Just three points went against serve in the tie-break, but Zverev was perfect on his deal after he fell behind 0/2.
While Zverev was concerned about his knee and appeared slightly hampered in his movement for a stretch, his consistently brilliant serving allowed him to swing freely on return and threaten throughout the two-and-a-half-hour match.
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The No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings won 90 per cent (66/73) of his first-serve points and did not face a break point while converting on two of his eight break chances. He relied heavily on his delivery to escape trouble in the crucial tie-break, saving several set points with unreturnable serves.
After improving to 6-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Norrie — including a five-set win at this year' Australian Open — Zverev will next meet 13th seed Taylor Fritz or 24th seed Alejandro Tabilo.
Zverev has yet to lose serve or surrender a set this fortnight, with his opening wins against Roberto Carballes Baena and Marcos Giron also coming in straight sets. He saved five break points against Carballes Baena but did not allow Giron a break chance in the second round.
The 27-year-old is the fourth German man in the Open Era to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon at least three times. He also reached the last 16 in 2017 and 2021, but has not advanced further at the All England Club. Zverev has reached at least the semi-finals at each of the other three majors.
Norrie, who knocked out countryman and British No. 1 Jack Draper in straight sets in the second round, was the last player from Great Britain remaining in the men's singles draw. He was bidding to become the seventh British man in the Open Era to reach the Wimbledon fourth round on multiple occasions, a list headed by Andy Murray (11) and Tim Henman (nine).
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Zverev converted on his sixth match point of the tie-break after saving five set points. Just three points went against serve in the tie-break, but Zverev was perfect on his deal after he fell behind 0/2.
While Zverev was concerned about his knee and appeared slightly hampered in his movement for a stretch, his consistently brilliant serving allowed him to swing freely on return and threaten throughout the two-and-a-half-hour match.
[ATP APP]
The No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings won 90 per cent (66/73) of his first-serve points and did not face a break point while converting on two of his eight break chances. He relied heavily on his delivery to escape trouble in the crucial tie-break, saving several set points with unreturnable serves.
After improving to 6-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Norrie — including a five-set win at this year' Australian Open — Zverev will next meet 13th seed Taylor Fritz or 24th seed Alejandro Tabilo.
Zverev has yet to lose serve or surrender a set this fortnight, with his opening wins against Roberto Carballes Baena and Marcos Giron also coming in straight sets. He saved five break points against Carballes Baena but did not allow Giron a break chance in the second round.
The 27-year-old is the fourth German man in the Open Era to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon at least three times. He also reached the last 16 in 2017 and 2021, but has not advanced further at the All England Club. Zverev has reached at least the semi-finals at each of the other three majors.
Cruising through to R4
Zverev takes out Norrie 6-4 6-4 7-6(15) to advance@wimbledon | #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/AzVNRsCYvr
— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 6, 2024
Norrie, who knocked out countryman and British No. 1 Jack Draper in straight sets in the second round, was the last player from Great Britain remaining in the men's singles draw. He was bidding to become the seventh British man in the Open Era to reach the Wimbledon fourth round on multiple occasions, a list headed by Andy Murray (11) and Tim Henman (nine).
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