On the expected path to the Grand Slam title premiere, Alexander Zverev has solved the next imperative task. Germany’s best tennis player made a clear 6:3,6:4,6:4 win over qualifier Radu Albot in Melbourne on Friday in the third round of the Australian Open.

Third in the world rankings reached the round of 16 without losing a set, but allowed himself to lose concentration against the outsider. The 24-year-old from Hamburg nodded from time to time, scolded and even threw his bat on the ground once. “I didn’t feel right – but who’s right? In the end I won and I’m happy about that,” Zverev said in an interview with the winner on the pitch.

Zverev wins against Albot: Trouble-free entry into Australian Open round of 16

In the top 16 round, Zverev will take on the world number 14 on Sunday. Denis Shapovalov of Canada, who won 7:6 (7:4), 4:6, 6:3, 6:4 against American Reilly Opelka. Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal may wait in the quarter-finals. For such a task, Zverev would have to improvise. “Hopefully there will be four more good matches for me,” he said.

The number of German tennis professionals at the Grand Slam tournament in the Australian metropolis has dwindled sharply over the past few days. Zverev was the only one of twelve German participants to make the third round in singles. In the third match, he did not have the honor of playing at the Rod Laver Arena, the largest tennis arena in Melbourne Park, for the first time. For the first time ever, the 24-year-old was not scheduled for a night session. But when he started in the evening, the pitch at John Cannes Arena was in shadow due to the long game in front of him.

Australian Open: The number of German tennis professionals drops sharply at the beginning

World number 124. Albot skillfully pushed Zverev into the corners at the start and served so impudently that he quickly gained the advantage after his serve. As desired, the German number one managed a quick break to make it 2-0. When the ball landed on the line after a more spectacular hit, Zverev raised his arms and animated the audience. Even though the game may not have continued as one-sided against the 1.75m tall opponent, it soon became clear that it would not develop into the kind of sport in 2019.

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At the time, Zverev fought for five sets at the US Open against his opponent, eight years his senior. Zverev was not as mature then as he is now – and Albot was one of the top 50 players. Meanwhile, the only tennis pro from Moldova who has ever participated in a Grand Slam tournament is No. 124.

Alexander Zverev against Radu Albot: Tennis professional made many mistakes

When music was accidentally played for a moment at the start of the second set, Zverev looked serious – Albot smiled and took a 1-0 lead. After a while, the player from Hamburg was faced with two breakballs, but he tackled them with ease. Three consecutive breakballs followed, but Zverev did not allow the service to be damaged. (ALSO READ: Djokovic Without Vaccination: Wimbledon Off Table? Vaccination Situation Could End Career)

He was in control of the game whenever he was focused but made many unforeseen mistakes and didn’t seem to be happy with himself. When he failed to make a 1-1 comeback in the third round, the bat fell to the ground.

Kevin Kravitz and Andreas Miz also have a chance of reaching the quarterfinals in doubles

In their second round match, 12-seeded Kravitz and The Miz defeated Americans Austin Kreijsek/Sam Querrey 6:4, 6:7 (7:9), 6:4. Both will now have to beat five seeds John Pearce of Australia and Filip Polasek of Slovakia to move ahead.[ये भी पढ़ें: भावनात्मक वापसी के बाद मरे ऑस्ट्रेलियन ओपन में हारे]

“The draw isn’t easy,” Kravitz said after reaching the Australian Open round of 16 for the first time with The Miz. Polasek took the title in Melbourne in 2021 with Croatian Ivan Dodig.