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‘He didn’t give me any rhythm’ Zverev rallies to avoid enormous French Open upset


Alexander Zverev came back from two sets to love down to escape a loss at the hands of compatriot Oscar Otte.

Alexander Zverev outlasted fellow countryman and qualifier Oscar Otte 3-6, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-0 in two hours and 40 minutes to avoid an embarrassing first round defeat.

“It was the first time I played Oscar so I didn’t know what to expect,” Zverev admitted in his post-match interview. “He didn’t give me any rhythm, and to be honest, I feel like to beat a top player at a Grand Slam…that’s exactly how you should play.”

Zverev won over 70% of points behind both his first and second serves for a strong serving performance.

If Otte had won, he would have been the lowest ranked player to beat Zverev in a Grand Slam tournament, having come into the French Open as world No. 152.

“In the end maybe he was a little more tired than me,” Zverev went on to say. “Maybe he’s not used to those kinds of intense matches.”

Otte previously had just a 1-2 record at all Grand Slams throughout his career, making two main draw appearances at the French Open in 2018 and 2019, and had never previously played in a match that went five sets.

The result is also the second time in his career that Alexander Zverev has won a match from two sets down, doing so at last year’s US Open when he defeated Pablo Carreno Busta from the same deficit.


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