Alexander Zverev overcame the challenge of Marcos Giron to advance at Wimbledon on Saturday afternoon.
Zverev, the second seed in south-west London, defeated the American player 6-2, 7-6, 6-4 on Court One.
The German star has historically struggled at Wimbledon, failing to advance past the fourth round in any of his previous nine attempts.
Who is now the best active ATP player without a Grand Slam title after Alexander Zverev’s French Open victory?
However, with the Grand Slam burden now lifted from Zverev’s shoulders, can he reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time?
The 29-year-old will hope to do so, especially after eclipsing Rafael Nadal in one particular metric.
Alexander Zverev has won 128 Grand Slam matches
As reported by OptaAce, Alexander Zverev has claimed a 128th men’s singles match win at Grand Slams.
By defeating Giron on Saturday, Zverev has now surpassed Rafael Nadal [127] for the second-most of any player since the German’s Grand Slam debut in 2015.
Only Novak Djokovic has won more Grand Slam matches since Zverev’s major debut.
Remarkably, Djokovic has won 217 Grand Slam matches since Zverev’s major debut at Wimbledon 2015.
Djokovic is seeking to capture a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon.
He can move a step closer to doing so by beating Roman Safiullin later on Sunday.
Grand Slam wins since Alexander Zverev’s major debut
- Novak Djokovic – 217 [and counting]
- Alexander Zverev – 128
- Rafael Nadal – 127
Alexander Zverev’s Grand Slam debut
As mentioned already, Zverev made his major debut at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships.
The German emerged victorious on his first appearance, battling past Teymuraz Gabashvili in five brutal sets.
Zverev defeated the Russian 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, 3-6, 9-7 at the All England Club.
He was then defeated in the second round by American Denis Kudla, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4.
A year later, Zverev reached the third round after beating Paul-Henri Mathieu and Mikhail Youzhny.
In the third round, he was defeated by 10th seed and 2010 Wimbledon finalist, Tomas Berdych.
