Alexander Zverev staying positive after surviving another massive scare
Fifth seed Alexander Zverev surrendered a two-set lead before summoning the energy to defeat Serbia’s Dušan Lajović in a five-set epic.
Zverev eventually prevailed 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 1-6, 6-2 and he is staying upbeat despite spending a lot of hours on the court yet again.
The young German began sluggishly and looked frustrated after going down 3-1 in the first set.
The three-time Masters 1000 winner saved a break point to hold serve. A series of unforced errors and sloppy service games saw Lajović broken twice as Zverev stormed back from 4-2 down to take the first set 6-4.
Zverev carried that momentum into the second set breaking Lajovic again before sealing the second set 6-2.
In the third set, Zverev became more passive as Monte Carlo Masters finalist Lajović fought back to take the third set 6-4.
Zverev continued to go into meltdown in the fourth set as Lajovic thundered winners past the German before taking the set 6-1.
Lajović began to wane physically and Zverev summoned the strength to win the decider 6-2 and breathe a huge sigh of relief.
The two clashed in a slightly similar five-set epic last year at the French Open as Zverev came back from two sets to one down to triumph.
https://twitter.com/TennisChannel/status/1134821905666469888
Next up for Zverev is Monte Carlo Masters champion Fabio Fognini who beat Spaniard Roberto Bautista-Agut in four sets triumphing 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.
The first set was a battle of attrition as Fognini played some quite brilliant tactical clay-court tennis.
In the second set, both players exchanged breaks before Fognini broke Bautista-Agut again to seal the set.
The 18th seed mounted a brief comeback to win the third set, before Fognini turned on the style to seal his place in the fourth-round.
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