BERLIN: Top seed Alexander Zverev returned to tennis from a recent illness with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka in the second round of the ATP tournament in Los Cabos, Mexico, reported German news agency (dpa).
Zverev, after a first-round bye, needed just an hour on Wednesday to reach the quarter-finals in his first match since losing to Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open semi-finals from two sets up.
The Olympic champion from Germany started to feel unwell at the Melbourne grand slam and then missed Germany’s Davis Cup tie in Hungary.
Zverev said a busy January schedule eventually took its toll but now rested and fit again, he could rely on his strong serve in Los Cabos where he next faces Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis.
“It’s a shot that I’ve been working on over the last four, five years because sometimes, it was a shot that made me lose a lot of matches, made me lose also a few very big matches, maybe like the US Open final,“ the ATP quoted Zverev as saying post-match about his serve.
“So, I’m happy it’s working. I’m happy that the work is paying off.”
In other action, defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas won with the same 6-3, 6-0 scoreline against Australian Aleksandar Vukic, and fourth seed Casper Ruud thrashed American Marcos Giron 6-1, 6-0.
American teenager Alex Michelsen got his first career win over a top 10 player when he beat ninth-ranked and third seeded Alex de Minaur, 6-4, 6-1.-Bernama
