Alexander Zverev came back from one set down to beat Alex De Minaur 5-7 6-2 6-3 in 2 hours and 47 minutes to reach the quarter finals at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
Zverev avenged his defeat against De Minaur, who had beaten his German opponent 5-7 6-3 6-4 at the United Cup last January.
De Minaur lost for the first time in eight matches after successfully defending his title in Acapulco earlier this month.
Both players went on serve with no break points in the first four games. De Minaur converted his fourth break point in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead. Zverev broke back at 15 in the 10thgame to draw level to 5-5. De Minaur converted his second break point in the 11th game to take a 6-5 lead and served it out 7-5 on his first set point in the 12th game.
Both players traded breaks in the first two games of the second set. Zverev converted his second break point in the sixth game and held serve at 15 to open up a 5-2 lead. The 2021 Olympic champion closed out the second set 6-2 with a break at 15 in the eighth game forcing the match to the third set. Four of their most recent five head-to-head matches were decided in the third set.
Zverev saved a break point in the first game of the third set. Both players went on serve until the fifth game when Zvevev saved two break points to hold serve after three deuces.
Zverev broke serve in the sixth game and held serve at deuce to open up a 5-2 lead. The German player served out the win on his second match point.
Zverev set up a quarter final against Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Fabian Maroszan 6-3 6-3 avenging a previous defeat against his Hungarian opponent at the Rome Masters 1000 tournament last year. Alcaraz recorded his 50th ATP Masters 1000 win.
“I don’t remember having a better match in wind than I did today. When you are down a set and a break, you have to figure it out if you are going to continue or you are going to be off the court in 20 minutes. I had to play differently from both sides and I managed it well today”, said Zverev.
