Nothing in his doughty performance would have dissuaded anyone in Melbourne to believe in Zverev’s wonderful potential and undisputed ability to establish himself as one of the leading lights in men’s tennis for years to come.
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But not quite there yet.
Former Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal booked his place in the last 16 of this year’s tournament at the expense of young German Alexander Zverev on Saturday, but he had to do it the hard way.
World No 9 Nadal looked sharp in his first round win over Germany’s Florian Mayer, winning in straight sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
How did he beat Zverev? “This was a big battle, I’m very happy to be through”, he said in an on-court interview. The Spanish superstar revealed the secrets to his success and victory: “fighting and running a lot”.
“I’m disappointed, but I know that this was a great match”, Zverev explained.
For all Zverev’s flashes of brilliance and abundant quality, there was also something glorious about Nadal clinging to the present when confronted with such an obvious figure of the rising new elite on the sport’s biggest stage.
The 14-time major victor is on a comeback after an extended injury layoff, yet he finished stronger in the 4-hour, 6-minute match on Rod Laver Arena as Zverev tightened up with cramping and nerves. Shocked by Fernando Verdasco in the first round previous year, the Spanish No.9 seed is yet to drop a set at this Australian Open.
Zverev appeared to have leg cramps at 2-2 in the fifth set.
At one set all Zverev could have folded yet he continued to play aggressive and entertaining tennis which also brought the best out of Nadal.
Nadal faces Frenchman Gael Monfils in the next round.
Nadal, now 30, is in comeback mode yet again. In 2014, he won at the French Open his 14 title.
Clearly, he is not the player he once was. Zverev missed a routine volley on match point before Nadal eventually triumphed in three sets.
RAFA’S TOUGH ASSIGNMENT: Nadal plays 19-year-old Alexander Zverev in an afternoon match at Rod Laver Arena. “I worked a lot during all December to have the chances to compete well in this these kind of moments”, he said after the match, and it showed.
Losing the third-set tiebreaker, Nadal said, provided him with the critical mass to turn the match around.
Zverev got on the board at 3-1, but Nadal’s serve and penetrating one-two finish increasingly pinned the teenager to the baseline. Not surprisingly, he could not resist a Nadal-like fist pump-and the crowd rose as one. At a precarious time in his career, all those exuberant scissor kicks and upper cuts he displayed against Zverev should sustain him going forward. He needed to play five sets to ensure the win.
In his 10th meeting with Baghdatis, Nadal dominated proceedings against the 2006 finalist, cracking 16 forehand winners and only dropping his serve once.
For more than four hours on Saturday, the pair stood toe to toe.
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-Other men’s winners: Raonic over Simon, Monfils over Kohlschreiber, Thiem over Paire, Goffin over Karlovic and Dimitrov over Gasquet.
