Zverev sails into Rome round 3 over Baez

It was a close and highly contested match between Alexander Zverev and Sebastian Baez but the German got the win 7-6(6) 6-3.

Alexander Zverev arrived in Rome after being disappointed with how the Madrid Open final went but he played a really solid match against a tricky opponent. Baez is a clay specialist who has been peaking in the last few weeks winning his maiden trophy in Estoril. The Argentine opened the match well and for the majority of the opening set, he was firmly in control.

He served first and he had no issues in winning his service game. Problems arose after he was unable to put too much pressure on Zverev. He got close a few times to a break point but overall Zverev was able to keep his serve as well. The German opted for attacking play and early on in the match, he was missing more than he would have liked.

He corrected that in time for the tiebreak winning it 8-6. Things got a bit easier after that as Zverev started hitting more than he was missing. His opponent also gave him more chances than in the opening set and it all culminated in a 6-3 2nd set finish. Zverev broke his opponent at the perfect moment in the 2nd set. He hit 24 winners overall.