Australian Open: Alexander Zverev Defeats Maxime Cressy To Enter Third Round

Sixth seed Alexander Zverev ground past Maxime Cressy and into the Australian Open third round on Wednesday, but he made heavy weather of ousting the qualifier. The German, a semi-finalist last year who is gunning for a maiden Grand Slam title, struggled to snap the American’s resistance in a tight first set. He finally made a breakthrough in the 11th game to seal the set and went onto win 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 in 2hrs 4mins. “He’s an extremely difficult player, he’s still young and he’s moving up the rankings quickly,” Zverev said of the 172nd-ranked Cressy. 

“He’s dangerous for anybody. I just had to be patient and wait for my chances and in the end I won and that’s the most important thing for me.”  

It was the second match in a row where Zverev has been less than clinical, after he was taken to four sets by 73rd-ranked Marcos Giron in the first round.

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His reward is a tricky clash against France’s Adrian Mannarino, the 32nd seed who swept past Serb Miomir Kecmanovic 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.

Zverev is looking to become the youngest Grand Slam singles champion, since Djokovic won the title at Melbourne Park in 2011.