Australian Open 2024: Alexander Zverev prevails in the German duel against Dominik Koepfer

“At first I wasn’t playing my best tennis. The United Cup in Sydney was fantastic, but coming here and playing a Grand Slam was a big change. You have to find the rhythm. I managed to do it in the tie-break, then everything it went smoothly “It’s better,” explained Alexander Zverev after the fight.

Outsider Dominik Koepfer got off to a better start at Margaret Court Arena. World number 62. he earned break opportunities early in the match and took the Olympic champion’s serve to make it 2-1.

Koepfer remained stable and deservedly secured the lead in the set after 37 minutes. “Dominik plays solid, concentrated, makes few errors. Sascha, on the other hand, is not yet in the match and 17 unforced errors in a set is not a good thing,” he said Boris Becker, Eurosport expert a first provisional budget.

Zverev continued to struggle with Koepfer’s game, but still managed to make his first break in the sixth game (4:2). The 26-year-old didn’t dominate, but he managed to take the lead and turn it into the equalizer of the set.

It was a completely equal duel, even if not at the highest level. Koepfer had a slight advantage at this stage and even scored a set point when Zverev served and the score was 5:4. However, the favorite was able to count on his good serve and rejected the opportunity.

In the tie-break, the sixth in the world ranking prevailed. Thanks to a mini break, Zverev led 4:2 and secured the lead in the set after a total of 2:30 hours of play.

“There wasn’t much difference in this third set, Koepfer could have won it easily. Zverev was a little more aggressive and could count on his good serve in the tiebreak,” Becker said.

Zverev remained on the trigger and won Kopefer’s first serve game in the fourth set. The preliminary decision. Hamburger had the momentum on his side, but Koepfer’s level dropped.

After 3:12 hours the moment came, Zverev served the match home and thus booked his ticket to the 2nd round. “I would call it a work victory. The serve was very strong, the rest of the game needs to be improved,” Becker said.

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