German Alexander Zverev, world No. 3, powerful and effective on serve, got rid of the Frenchman Terence Atmane (47th) on Monday with a score of 6-3, 7-6 (7/2), looking a bit shaky for his debut on the central court of the Caja Magica in Madrid.
Despite a slight scare towards the end of the match when he seemed to have control, Zverev still managed to make the difference to eliminate Atmane in 1 hour and 37 minutes.
In this Madrid Masters 1000 that he particularly enjoys – having won it twice, in 2018 and 2021 – the 29-year-old German reaches the round of 16 for the 9th time in as many participations.
He will face Czech Jakub Mensik (27th) for a spot in the quarter-finals, who defeated Russian Karen Khachanov (16th) 6-4, 7-6 (13/11) at the end of the program.
“Until 6-3, 5-2 I was playing perfect tennis but I felt a slight injury, I don’t want to say what it is but I hope it will be okay for the rest,” Zverev said at the end of the match.
Appearing to be in control, he seemed to be heading towards a very easy victory but eventually had to go through a tiebreak in the second set to prevail.
On the other hand, Terence Atmane, with his calves wrapped in bandages two days after defeating his compatriot Ugo Humbert in a match where he suffered severe cramps, did not seem physically diminished. However, probably lacking familiarity on this court with its wide angles, the Frenchman was surprised several times by the unpredictable bounces of the ball.
– Ball into the stands –
Making numerous unforced errors (24, compared to only 12 for Zverev), the Frenchman may regret only letting go once he was in a tight spot, towards the end of the second set.
After a balanced start (3-3), Zverev showcased his power. Very efficient on his serve, the precise German then broke Atmane’s serve twice to comfortably win the first set (6-3).
The Frenchman, who lost the first set on a missed half-volley, angrily sent a ball into the stands and received a warning. “There is room, turn it around,” his coach Guillaume Peyre advised him before the start of the second set.
But Zverev, unperturbed, continued his demonstration. The German, who had 40 wins and only one loss against left-handed opponents since the 2023 Roland-Garros (only beaten by American Learner Tien in Acapulco last year), smoothly progressed to earn two match points at 5-2.
However, Atmane managed to ward off the threat and finally play more freely to win his service game and achieve his only break of the match, coming back to 5-4.
The Frenchman saved another match point with an ace to level at 5-5 and push Zverev to a tiebreak. But from 2-2, the German pulled ahead and played very accurately, unlike Atmane who made several errors again to eventually lose 7 points to 2.
