Alexander Zverev survives four-hour marathon at French Open

Alexander Zverev

Paris: Alexander Zverev survived a bruising four-hour battle to reach the French Open second round yesterday while dangerman Juan Martin del Potro also progressed. German fifth seed Zverev, a quarter-finalist in Paris in 2018, battled past Australia's John Millman 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 2-6, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3. The champion in Geneva last weekend fired 57 winners past World No. 56 Millman.

Zverev's difficult day
However, he also committed 73 unforced errors on a blustery day in the French capital. "John is a tough player who beat Federer so I knew it would be difficult today," said Zverev, bidding to become the first German man to win the Roland Garros title since Henner Henkel in 1937. Next up for Zverev is Swedish qualifier Mikael Ymer, the World No. 148 of Ethiopian origin, who marked his Grand Slam debut with a 6-0, 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) win over Slovenia's Blaz Rola.

Del Potro marches on
Argentine eighth seed Del Potro, a semi-finalist in 2009 and 2018, made the second round with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 win over Chilean World No. 58 Nicolas Jarry. Del Potro, who is still feeling his way back after knee surgery, faces Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka. Other winners included Monte Carlo champion Fabio Fognini, seeded nine, who defeated Andreas Seppi in an all-Italian clash, 6-3, 6-0, 3-6, 6-3.

Oldest men's match
Meanwhile, Ivo Karlovic made a mockery of his 40 years to beat relative spring chicken, Feliciano Lopez, 37, in the oldest ever men's match-up. Croatian Karlovic, the tallest player on the tour at 6ft 11, defeated Lopez 7-6 (7/4), 7-5, 6-7 (7/9), 7-5.

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