Alexander Zverev, one of the best performers on clay courts this year, survived a scare on Wednesday at Roland Garros. In a match of momentum shifts, the second-seeded German did not play his best tennis in the second round, but recovered from a set and 1-3 deficit to work his way past Dusan Lajovic of Serbia 2-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 in three hours and 24 minutes. Zverev struck 42 winners, but committed 53 unforced errors and was broken five times to equal his best performance in the French capital (2014). He has now won 18 of his past 20 matches and is one victory away from 150 career wins (149-78). “This is important, because I'm still in the tournament...
At 2-5 down in the first set, many fans on Court Suzanne Lenglen could be forgiven for thinking that David Goffin was in for a second titanic battle in as many rounds at Roland Garros. But the Belgian had other ideas, reeling off 15 consecutive games to turn the tables on French wild card Corentin Moutet, before securing his place in the third round, for the fourth consecutive year, with a 7-5, 6-0, 6-1 victory. "Little by little, I realized what [Moutet] did well and what he didn't do that well," shared Goffin. "I was able to counter him and adjust myself and get into the match." Goffin, who recovered from two sets to love down to beat Robin Haase...
Novak Djokovic, the No. 20 seed, didn’t have things all his own way on Wednesday at Roland Garros, when the 2016 champion fought his way past Spanish qualifier Jaume Munar. The Serbian star, who continues to work his way back to peak form, often drew upon the support of the crowd to defeat Munar 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and 18 minutes for a place in the third round. He maintains his record of never having lost to a qualifier (17-0) at a Grand Slam championship. “Credit to him for fighting and playing well,” said Djokovic. “I went through my ups and downs, and [I’m] not really satisfied with the performance. I just played [well] enough in the right...
Is #NextGenATP's Jaume Munar the most likely man to lead Spanish tennis into the 2020s and become the nation's greatest hope when Rafael Nadal eventually steps aside (hopefully many years from now)? Maybe. One thing we do know: Munar will try to channel his best Rafa impersonation against Nadal's great rival, Novak Djokovic, Wednesday at Roland Garros as second-round action begins. Munar earned his first Grand Slam victory on Monday, coming back from two sets down to beat Spanish tennis icon David Ferrer. The 21-year-old Barcelona resident called it “the most important victory” of his career. Next for Munar: 2016 champion Djokovic. Welcome to the big league, Jaume. [ALSO LIKE] Djokovic has looked much more like his old self during...
Robert Farah clinched his 200th tour-level doubles victory on Tuesday, defeating Max Mirnyi and Philipp Oswald 7-6(3), 7-6(4) alongside partner Juan Sebastian Cabal at Roland Garros. The fifth seeds advanced to the second round after one hour and 52 minutes, winning 76 per cent of second-serve points. Farah, who turned professional in 2010, recently won his 11th tour-level title with Cabal at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, beating Pablo Carreno Busta and Joao Sousa in the championship match. The Colombian Power await Argentina's Guido Pella and Diego Schwartzman or Antoine Hoang and Ugo Humbert in the second round. Great Britain's Ken Skupski and Neal Skupski took just 67 minutes to produce a big upset on Court 15, defeating Americans Mike Bryan...