Olympics: Defending champ Zverev into last 16, to face Popyrin next
The German has beaten Popyrin in both their previous meetings in straight sets
Alexander Zverev, 2024 Paris Olympics
Image Credit: DPPI / Panoramic
Germany’s Alexander Zverev, who won the men’s singles gold medal in Tokyo, kept his hopes of a repeat at the Paris Olympics alive with a straight sets win over Czech Tomas Machac at Roland-Garros on Tuesday.
The German, seeded third, earned the crucial break of the first set in the sixth game and then held on to his serve to claim the set 6-3.
In the second set, the German took an early lead to go up 2-0 before Machac fought back to level the set at 2-2. Zverev got another break at in the 11th game and then served out the match for the 6-3, 7-5 win in one hour and 35 minutes.
The win was some degree of revenge for the German as he and partner Laura Siegemund were defeated by Machac and Katerina Siniakova in the mixed doubles event on Monday.
The win moves the 27-year-old into the round of 16 in Paris where he will meet Australia’s Alexei Popyrin.
Poryin defeated three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 7-5 in another second-round clash on Tuesday.
The Australian has failed to take a set off Zverev in their two previous meetings, both of which came on hardcourts. Their last meeting, however, came in 2019.
