Alexander Zverev battled back to beat Gilles Muller 4-6 6-3 6-2 to reach the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters for the second consecutive year.
The Luxembourg player made a strong start to the match and used his big serve and powerful groundstrokes to great effect during the first set.
However, he could not maintain that high standard. And as Muller’s first serve percentage dropped, Zverev started to take control of more of the rallies and broke the World No.28 twice in the second set.
The decider was much more comfortable for the German. He broke Muller in the second game to open up a 3-0 lead, then held serve twice more before earning another break to seal the victory.
While Zverev will be happy with the win and encouraged by his general form, he needs to be wary of his serve. In the second set, he only made 35% of his first serves. A better returner than Muller may have taken advantage of that.
Goffin edges past Tsitsipas
David Goffin won two very close sets to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(4) 7-5 on the Court des Princes.
The Belgian, who missed a month of the season after suffering a freak eye injury in Rotterdam, had to draw on all his experience to get past the young Greek, who looks to be an excellent clay court player.
It was an unpredictable first set. Goffin earned the first break by wearing down Tsitsipas with his consistent groundstrokes, before the Greek manoeuvred him expertly around the court to break straight back.
The determined Belgian broke again to lead 5-3 and had a set point on Tsitsipas’ serve. However, he was unable to take it and the Greek punished his failure by hitting a succession of superb winners to break him to love.
In the tie-break, Goffin’s greater reliability in the rallies earned him a 5-4 lead. And this time he took his chance by winning the next two points with a brilliant forehand winner and an ace.
The second set was an epic battle of wills as virtually every game was difficult to win. The World No.10 eventually won it after 66 minutes when he took his fourth match point to edge a typically lengthy game on Tsitsipas’ serve.
