Zverev demonstrates his French Open readiness.
Prior to the start of the French Open, Alexander Zverev is still honing his clay court skills in the highest-ranked tournament at the ATP's Masters in Rome. Despite a less than perfect performance in Madrid recently, things are looking good for the Olympic tennis champion in the ongoing Rome Masters.
Zverev handily defeated Nuno Borges, an outsider, in the ATP Masters Rome and advanced to the quarter-finals. In a match lasting 87 minutes, the German player emerged victorious with an impressive 6:2, 7:5 win over the unseeded Portuguese player. For the next round, he will face Taylor Fritz (No. 11). Zverev holds a strong record of four wins from their seven past encounters.
In an interview with Sky, Zverev complimented Fritz as a "wonderful player" who is "finding his rhythm." Speaking about his recent match with Borges, he admitted to becoming too aggressive in the second set, leading to making unforced errors. However, he emphasized the importance of being aggressive for success in the upcoming French Open.
In the opening set, Zverev took the lead with a break early on but gave up his service at 2:2. The 27-year-old Borges, competing in the last 16 of the Masters for the first time, failed to win another game in the rest of the set. The decisive second set took a long time, as Zverev gained control of his opponent's serve when both players were at 5:5, winning 6:5.
As a third seed, Zverev now has a challenging task ahead of him in Rome, with Fritz, ranked eighth in the world, being his next opponent. The latter earned his spot in the round of 16 after defeating Bulgarian eighth seed Grigor Dimitrov in a tight victory of 6:2, 6:7 (11:13), 6:1. Thus far, Zverev's season on clay has been disappointing. In the Masters tournaments of Monte-Carlo and Madrid, he fell short of the round of 16, while in Munich, he made it to the quarter-finals.
Zverev made history in Rome back in 2017 when he won the Masters. He also made it to the final the following year. For the upcoming French Open, which begins on May 20, this tournament serves as ideal preparation for the pros. For Zverev, his most recent tournament win took place in September of last year.
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Given the context, here are two sentences that contain those words:
Alexander Zverev is currently competing in the Rome Masters, a prestigious tournament in Rome before the French Open. After his impressive victory in Rome, Alexander Zverev, the Olympic tennis champion, will aim to perform well in the clay courts of the French Open, a tournament he has previously excelled in.
Source: www.ntv.de
