#NextGenATP star Alexander Zverev overcame a two-sets-to-one deficit on Tuesday against Robin Haase to gain his first career win at the Australian Open 6-2, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2.
Zverev fell behind a break in the fourth set and shattered his racquet in frustration. But the 19-year-old German won 12 of the final 15 games to improve his five-set record to 3-2 with the two-hour and 54-minute victory.
The right-hander had lost in the first round in Melbourne last year, his only prior appearance at Melbourne Park. Zverev, the 24th seed, will next meet fellow #NextGenATP player Frances Tiafoe, who earned his first Grand Slam win by beating Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan 6-1, 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-2. The 18-year-old American had been 0-3 in Grand Slam matches. Tiafoe, who qualified for the Australian Open, has now won four consecutive matches in Melbourne. This will be his first FedEx ATP Head2Head contest against Zverev.
Zverev and Tiafoe are two of the top contenders for the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals, to be held 7-11 November in Milan, Italy. The top seven players 21 and under will compete at the event. The eighth player will be determined by wild card. Fans can follow the Emirates ATP Race To Milan all season long. Click here to view the current standings.
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Other #NextGenATP Americans were not as fortunate as Tiafoe on Tuesday. Twenty-year-old Jared Donaldson was leading two sets to zero against Brazilian Rogerio Dutra Silva but lost 3-6, 0-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 to the Brazilian. Both players won exactly 131 points in the first-round contest.
Michael Mmoh, playing in only his second Grand Slam singles contest, fell to 25th seed Gilles Simon 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and 50 minutes. Simon erased four of five break points and broke 19-year-old Mmoh six times.