WHAT HAPPENED: Alexander Zverev, the No. 5 seed from Germany, continued his dominance over fellow big man Kevin Anderson of South Africa, the 2017 US Open finalist, 7-6, 5-7, 6-3, 7-5, on opening day at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Zverev has never lost to the South African in six matches.
“Kevin isn’t a guy you usually play in the first round. This is normally a fourth-round, quarterfinal, or semifinal match against him,” said Zverev—who apologized for not immediately remembering to put on a mask during the on-court post-match interview.
Though Zverev reached his first career Grand Slam semifinal earlier this year at the only other major played, the Australian Open, the German is hardly bursting with confidence. Down to No. 7 in the world from a high of No. 3, his nerves showed at key points against the unseeded Anderson.
Zverev overcame continued service difficulties, almost exclusively limited to his second ball, to defeat Anderson. He won a very unconvincing 32% of his second-serve points in the match (but a very healthy 86% of his first serves).
The German captured a tight opening set in a tiebreak and appeared comfortable deep in the second set when he abruptly lost his focus and his serve at 5-5, sailing a clumsy overhead beyond the baseline. Anderson notched the match at one-set-all.
Zverev looked suddenly shaky, but he rebounded strongly in the third set. The determined backcourter began to rush the net behind his serve—even though volleying is far from one of his strengths. The fifth seed broke for a 4-1 advantage with a sharply angled cross-court approach and a delicately carved backhand volley. Zverev pumped his fist, breathed a sigh of relief, and rode a newfound burst of energy to a more straightforward wins in sets three and four.
Zverev closed out the match confidently, with a service game at love.
WHAT IT MEANS: Though the body types and games of these two tall, rangy players might appear similar, Zverev, 23, is a much smoother backcourt ball-striker as well as mover-around-the-court —not to mention, he’s 11 years younger than the veteran Anderson.
As their career head-to-head indicates, Zverev’s game matches up exceedingly well against the big-hitting Anderson.
Perhaps the only area Anderson can count on with a clear edge is his serve. The 6-foot-8 South African bases his game upon serve bombs, while Zverev’s nagging service woes have derailed his upward progress over the past two years. Long touted as a future Grand Slam winner, the 6-foot-6 German served the second-highest number of double faults in the men’s game in 2019, and he currently ranks just 76th in second-serve points won: a lowly 43%.
While the rest of Zverev’s game appears to be intact, his service difficulties are affecting his confidence. In fact, it’s surprising that he has been able to remain in the Top 10 with the delivery problems he has experienced. At last week’s Western & Southern Open, Zverev served for the match at 5-4 in the third set of his second-round match against Andy Murray, but double-faulted three times to lose the game, and eventually, the match.
Anderson, a two-time Grand Slam finalist (he was also the runner-up at Wimbledon in 2018), has been ranked as high as seventh in the world. But after a couple of seasons struggling with myriad injuries, including two knee surgeries, Anderson is down to No. 117.
MATCH POINT: If he hopes to play up to his seeding and advance beyond his best US Open finish, the 4th Round, Zverev will need his second serve to not be the debilitating weakness it has been for the last two years. Against Anderson, the German double-faulted just six times. Yet even in an otherwise solid victory, he won a miserly 32% of second-serve points. That is unlikely to be good enough against the game’s best returners and contenders for the 2020 US Open title.
