– Washington, D.C.
Alexander Zverev said his older brother Mischa would always beat him whenever they played tennis against each other in their backyard ten years ago. Well the younger brother got some revenge as 21-year old Sasha defeated 30-year old big brother Mischa 6-3 7-5 in the third round of the Citi Open in Washington. It was their first ever meeting in a main draw singles competition. A span of 539-tour level matches between them. The pair had played twice previously at the pro level; once at a Challenger event in Dallas six years ago and the other in qualifying at a clay court event in Houston. Neither match obviously having the same profile as Thursday night’s encounter.
Also not the same, was the fact the two brothers warmed up on the practice courts together less than an hour before the match. Something you never see between two players facing each other on the same day.
The first six games of the match were even between the two brothers. Sasha getting the first break of the match with a big forehand winner off a Mischa second serve, one of 14 winners for the younger Zverev in the set. A great scoop backhand volley helped Sasha close out the set in 29 minutes.
The first break of the second set came in the fifth game off the racquet of the World No. 3. A clear backhand winner down the line gave Sasha a 3-2 lead
Despite being down a set and a break, the World No. 42 got back into it. A poor service game from his younger brother including a double fault and two errors gave the game to Mischa at Love. That got the crowd into it with chants of “Let’s Go Zverev” getting a chuckle from both players. A brief rain delayed stopped proceedings for about 15 minutes with Mischa up 5-4. Once they resumed the older Zverev earned himself a set point but a big serve by his much bigger 6’6 brother wiped it away.
A game later it was Sasha who earned a break chance and he converted. One of Mischa’s 21 forehand errors in the match went wide and gave the defending Citi Open Champion an important 6-5 lead.
In the next game, on his second match point, Zverev sealed the victory to move into the Quarter-Finals. A warm embrace and big smiles from both put an end to a memorable night for the two players.
“When we had the coin toss and then took the picture and I walked back to the baseline I had to literally fight my tears,” said the older Mischa. “I felt it had finally come true because we’ve been playing against each other in the backyard on our mini tennis court and imagined that we played each other in a Grand Slam Final. It was a big day, a big match, I was just proud, it was very emotional for me”
“I wasn’t nervous at all, I was more happy,” said Sasha. “I was more enjoying the moment. I think we played great tennis, I think we played both close to our best. I just enjoyed it out there.”
The tournament got creative at the end of the match with a fun moment. The brothers both signed the same six tennis balls and launched them into the crowd. A keepsake for fans from a pretty cool night.
The all Zverev matchup in Washington was the tenth time in history that two brothers had faced each other in an ATP Tour level match. Emilio Sanchez and his brother Javier hold the record for most meetings by two brothers. Emilio won 10 of their 12 meetings.
“Some of you make it sound like it was an unbelievable stressful experience,” replied Sasha “We enjoyed it. We liked playing each other. We enjoyed the time on the court. I hope it happens again.”
The Zverev brothers were together again a short time later, this time on the same side of the court. They went over to the Grandstand court and finished off their rain delayed Doubles match from Wednesday night and proceeded to beat the No. 1 doubles team in the world Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic in straight sets.
@Sportshorn
