Alexander Zverev had a lot of problems against Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles on Roland Garros but he passed the test winning 7-6(11) 7-5 6-3.
Zapata has been playing his best tennis ever at this event moving spectacular on the court and catching a lot of balls. He frustrated a lot of opponents including Zverev who ultimately was able to prevail. The first set was a very interesting one. Zverev jumped out to an early 2-0 lead which became a double break lead at 4-1. Zapata pulled one break back and then later on the other as well as Zverev started missing.
In the tiebreak, Zverev jumped out to an early lead again but Zapata fought back. Both had plenty of set points but it was Zverev who pulled it out 13-11. It was a crucial set because the Spaniard was playing spectacular tennis and who knows what whould have happened if he got another confidence boost. The 2nd set was interesting again as Zapata came out strong.
He took a 2-0 lead but gave it away. He then took a 4-2 lead but once again gave it away ultimately losing the set 5-7. To his credit, Zverev kept battling and never giving up and in crucial rallies, his serve truly helped him. The final set was another interesting one. Zverev jumped out to an early lead but the Spaniard battled back once again.
Neither player was very good at holding leads simply because they were forcing each other to miss quite a lot. Eventually Zverev was able to get another break and this time around he stayed focused enough to close it out. A good win for him at the French Open.