Zverev Charges Into Paris Third Round

Alexander Zverev continued his strong run of indoor form on Wednesday at the Rolex Paris Masters.

The World No. 7 needed just 55 minutes to defeat Miomir Kecmanovic 6-2, 6-2 and extend his winning streak to nine matches. Zverev is attempting to capture his third straight trophy on the ATP Tour after back-to-back title runs at indoor tournaments in Cologne last month.

The 23-year-old is aiming to emulate his coach, 2012 champion David Ferrer, by lifting his first trophy in Paris. Zverev, who owns a 24-8 record in 2020, is through to the third round at the ATP Masters 1000 for the third straight year.

“[David] has great memories of this tournament,” said Zverev. “I hope I can do the same [thing] he did in 2012. We will see how it goes.”

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Zverev will face Adrian Mannarino for a place in the quarter-finals. The Nur-Sultan runner-up saved six of seven break points to beat Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3. Fourth seed Zverev owns a 4-0 ATP Head2Head record against the Frenchman, which includes a three-set quarter-final victory at last month’s bett1HULKS Championship.

Of the 20 winners struck in the first set, 18 came from the racquet of Zverev. The German overpowered Kecmanovic from the baseline, particularly on his forehand, to claim the opener in 25 minutes.

Zverev continued to impose his game on Kecmanovic in the second set. The German extracted forehand errors from Kecmanovic and won all nine of his first-serve points to clinch victory in 55 minutes.

London Hopes Murray/Skupski Set Kubot/Melo Rematch
Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski improved their chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals on Wednesday with a 7-5, 7-6(5) win against Hugo Nys and Artem Sitak at the Rolex Paris Masters.

The Vienna finalists won 79 per cent of first-serve points (34/43) to advance to the second round in Paris. Murray and Skupski are currently in seventh position in the FedEx ATP Battle For London.

In their next match, the British pair will meet fellow London contenders Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo. Kubot and Melo claimed their third team title in Vienna last week with a straight-sets win against Murray and Skupski in the championship match.

Max Purcell and Luke Saville’s chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals were dealt a blow when they fell in straight sets on Court 2. Austin Krajicek and Franko Skugor converted five of six break points to eliminate the Australian Open finalists 6-3, 6-3.

Nur-Sultan champions Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen kept their London hopes alive with a 4-6, 7-6(3), 10-8 comeback win against Daniil Medvedev and Jan-Lennard Struff. The Belgians will face second seeds Mate Pavic and Bruno Soares in the second round.

from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/3exr4CD