Second seed Alexander Zverev required only 69 minutes to book his place in the second round of the French Open after crushing former junior world No.1 Ricardas Berankis 6-1, 6-1, 6-2.
Zverev, who is yet to progress beyond the fourth round at a major tournament, dictated the match from the onset as he didn’t face a single break point. Hitting 11 aces along with 29 winners and only 15 unforced errors. In total, the German lost just eight points behind his serve.
“It’s always good to get a straight sets win at the beginning of the tournament.” Said Zverev.
“I kind of feel confident going into the next few rounds. Obviously, I’m very happy with how I played and I’m looking forward to the next one (match).”
The comprehensive win highlights Zverev’s credentials as a challenger to Rafael Nadal for the title, despite his record in the major. Heading into this week, he has won 13 out of 14 matches. Claiming back-to-back titles in Munich and Madrid. Zverev was denied the hat-trick in Rome by Nadal, who he lost to in three sets last Sunday.
Despite the hype surrounding the 21-year-old, he is refusing to get carried away when it comes to his title chances. This year is only his third appearance at the tournament as a professional in the main draw. He is yet to progress beyond the third round.
“It’s always a honor to play in a grand slam. As a little kid you always dream of coming here (to Roland Garros) and playing.” He said.
“I’m the number two seed, but obviously it doesn’t mean anything. There’s a lot of great players, there’s a lot of great athletes here who is trying to take things away. I hope that I can continue playing like I have throughout this season We will see how far I can go.”
Drawn in the same section as Lucas Pouille and Stan Wawrinka, Zverev will take on either Dusan Lajovic or Jiri Vesely in the next round.
Also booking his place in the second round was Pablo Carreno Busta. The Spanish tenth seed battled back from a set down to defeat qualifier Jozef Kovalik 4-6, 6-1, 7-5, 7-6(5). There was also a double celebration for home fans in Paris. Gael Monfils overcame a lacklustre start to his past to ease past wildcard Elliot Benchetrit 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-1. Meanwhile, Lucas Pouille dismissed Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.
