Alexander Zverev battles past Altmaier in Melbourne

Alexander Zverev is famous for complicating things early in grand slam draws. The German tends to start off events lacklustre forcing himself to stay on the court longer than he should and it almost happened again. Showcasing a certain growth he exhibited last year, the German was able to rally in the 3rd set to keep it in three.

Starting off it was relatively straightforward for Zverev. He served well and played well not allowing his opponent much. The same awaited him on Altmaier serve with the only break points coming late in the set at 5-4. After failing to convert them Zverev had to go to the tiebreak to win the set but he pulled it out 7-3. The 2nd set was much better by Zverev who opted for a more aggressive push.

He took an early break and never looked back quickly racking up games. It was 2-0, then 4-0 after which he closed it out with 6-1. A very impressive display similar to the peak he showed at the Olympic Games. The 3rd set is where things went a little bit sideways. He lost his serve at 2-2 and fell behind 2-4 but rallied not long after that.

Zverev was determined not to give control away from the match and he was able to make it 4-4. He came close to finishing it off at 6-5 but three consecutive match points were not enough. In the end, he finished it off in the tiebreak. Almost three hours for Zverev which is less than ideal but he kept in three and he always underlines that as important.