Australian Open in Melbourne, 3rd round, Saturday, 20.01.2024
Just gone again… Alexander Zverev fought back from a set deficit against underdog Lukas Klein to win the decisive two tiebreaks and book his ticket to the third round of the Australian Open.
He is the last German player still flying the German flag in the last 32. Jan-Lennard Struff was defeated by Miomir Kecmanovic in another marathon match. Black-red-gold is also no longer to be found in the women’s tournament tree.
After two complicated tasks against Dominic Koepfer and Klein, Zverev now has to assert himself against the American Alex Michelsen. Will it be another thriller? Let’s take a look together at the best odds for the match
Zverev definitely imagined the task would be easier. Klein played really well and pushed the reigning Olympic champion to the brink of defeat. It would have been a disaster for German tennis, a third round without German participation in the first major of the year.
However, Zverev was able to hit back, but stumbled again with his forehand and was again too passive for many phases of the match, playing several meters behind the baseline. Compared to the Slovakian, his forehand balls flew 17 km/h slower, worlds apart in tennis.
These problems and Klein’s aggression against a defensive Zverev made the match more exciting than expected.
After Zverev’s strong finish against Koepfer, who was definitely stronger than Klein, who had previously won against an out-of-form Soon-Woo Kwon, my prediction for the match was that the German would cruise through with aplomb
However, Zverev didn’t get into the flow over several sets in the second match either. “I was surprised, he played incredibly aggressively,” admitted Zverev on the Eurosport microphone after the match. “I need to do a few things better, but my opponent played very good tennis and gets applause for it.”
Zverev now wants to freshen up again for the next match against Michelsen in his famous ice leg trousers. He is optimistic that he will be in top form again on Saturday. The German has now won nine out of ten possible sets after two rounds.
But Zverev is one of the best players on the tour when it comes to stamina and rehabilitation. He is therefore once again the favorite against Michelsen and has been given odds of 1.15. Michelsen has odds of 5.60 to win at Betano.
The Alex duel will be played for the first time on Saturday. However, the US-American has not been playing with the really big tennis pros for long. After all, the US tennis hopeful is only 18 years old.
But like many of his compatriots, he grew up on hard courts in the United States and is a specialist on the surface. In his 134 matches, he has only played nine times on clay and 13 times on grass.
He achieved one of his best performances on the green, making it to the final at the traditional tournament in Newport and beating tennis icon John Isner, among others, on the way there. Adrian Mannarino ultimately snatched the winner’s trophy from him
He finished
2023 with impressive performances in Challenger tournaments, reaching the indoor finals in both Knoxville and Champaign. Before the Australian Open, he suffered two first-round defeats after successfully qualifying in Brisbane and Auckland.
He quickly recovered from the early defeats and fared better at the start of the Australian Open. He had a grateful draw with James McCabe, a player ranked outside the top 250, and prevailed in four sets.
He then surprised against Jiri Lehecka, the favored Czech retired in four rounds, conceding an unusual number of breaks. He was very aggressive and courageous in his first matches. A strategy that might be the right one against an overly passive Zverev
My Zverev Michelsen tip
After Lukas Klein, Zverev will now once again face a player he has never played before. Michelsen, who is only 19 years old, has already made his mark on hard court and has made his way into his first third Grand Slam round with some courageous play.
Zverev has two intense matches against Koepfer and Klein behind him and repeatedly stumbles over his forehand during phases and tends to move too far behind the baseline.
Due to the lack of consistency and Michelsen’s strong performance at the start of the tournament, I expect the world number six to lose a set. On paper, the toughest task awaits the Hamburg-born player.
My Zverev Michelsen tip: Over 3.5 sets
