TennisNH

Zverev Maintains Mannarino Mastery To Reach Fourth Round

12-Feb-2021 06:06:00 | ATP World Tour

Sixth seed Alexander Zverev kicked his Australian Open title bid into high gear on Friday with a commanding 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 victory over Adrian Mannarino to reach the fourth round. 

Zverev, who reached the semi-finals here last year, was facing Mannarino for the fourth time in less than six months when they met inside Rod Laver Arena. Each meeting has been a victorious but hard-fought affair for Zverev, who needed two tie-breaks in their most recent meeting at the Rolex Paris Masters to win 7-6(11), 6-7(7), 6-4.

It was much more straightforward for Zverev against Mannarino, with the German saving all three break points he faced and firing 19 aces and 35 winners en route to victory.

Zverev dictated play with clean and patient hitting from the baseline, firing flat and aggressive shots to take time away from Mannarino and control the court. Mannarino struggled to read the German’s powerful serves, especially his second serve – which Zverev regularly hits with as much power and pace as most other players’ first serves. 

Mannarino’s return position forced him to either hit the ball high out of his strike zone or cede ground from the baseline. The Frenchman chose the former as he tried to stay aggressive, but as a result he wasn’t able to keep Zverev under pressure for more than a few stretches throughout the match.

Zverev needed an hour and 43 minutes to move into the fourth round, where he awaits the winner of No. 23 seed Dusan Lajovic and Pedro Martinez of Spain.