Alexander Zverev responds when asked if he’s feeling the pressure of being a Grand Slam champion
Alexander Zverev won his first match since his Roland Garros triumph by defeating Vit Kopriva in three sets in the first round of the Halle Open.
Zverev took the first and third sets to confirm his place in the second round of his home event, taking out the Czech star by a scoreline of 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.
Despite his monumental achievement at Roland Garros, Zverev arrives on the grass court swing with a notoriously difficult record on the surface.
After picking up the victory, Zverev was asked if his Roland Garros victory, and the German setting, means there is more pressure on him at this year’s event.
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“I’m very pleased and very happy to play my first match in Germany as a Grand Slam champion, but I don’t think that affected me too much; I think it was really the change of surface, and my opponent was really good today,” said Zverev in his on-court interview.
The German was full of praise for Kopriva, who is currently ranked at World No. 67 in the ATP Tour rankings.
“I thought he played a fantastic match,” said Zverev. “He was hitting his groundstrokes incredibly well, serving unbelievably well, returning second serves; I’ve barely witnessed it on a grass court. I was serving 190 sometimes, and the ball is coming back faster.
“To be honest, I’m very pleased with the win, because I think it was a difficult match, a difficult opponent; for the first grass-court tournament, it was not too bad.
“Look, I feel with every point I play on a grass court I’m going to play better and better; the first couple of matches are always tricky. I think his level dropped a tiny bit in the end. I hung in there, I took my chances, the one I had, and I’m happy with that.”
Zverev will next play compatriot Yannick Hanfmann in the second round, but he has already been buoyed by several high-profile upsets in Germany.
He is the top seed at the ATP 500 event, but he will be pleased to survive his match against Koprova as three of the top eight exited at the first round stage.
Flavio Cobolli, Andrey Rublev, and defending champion Alexander Bublik were all beaten in the first round, while Joao Fonseca was also beaten.
Zverev is looking to win his first-ever grass court title and he might not get a better chance that this year’s Halle Open. It could be a very successful month indeed for the German as he looks to continue his immense form on the ATP Tour.
