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Rick Rycroft / AP
Germany’s Alexander Zverev breaks his racket in frustration during his first round match against American Marcos Giron at the Australian Open.
Days after pushing top-ranked Novak Djokovic and No. 4 Daniil Medvedev in tough three sets at the ATP Cup, Alexander Zverev was in trouble in his first-round match at the Australian Open against No. 73 Marcos Giron on Monday. .
Sixth-seeded Zverev lost the first set in a tiebreaker after saving four set points. Then, to vent in the second set, he crashed his racket into the court several times and broke it.
It helped a bit, as Zverev regained his composure to beat the 27-year-old American 6-7 (8), 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2.
Rick Rycroft / AP
A young spectator holds the broken racket of the German Alexander Zverev after his victory over the American Marcos Giron.
And there was a bonus for a girl in the crowd, as Zverev presented her with his shattered racket while signing autographs at the end.
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“He played incredible. I knew that on a big stage, against a top 10 player, he has to come out shooting, ”Zverev said. “It got me in trouble.
“Two days ago I was spending three hours on the court against Medvedev and Novak, my body was a bit fatigued. But this is a Slam, you don’t get easy matches. “
Zverev reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in Melbourne last year and improved at the US Open by reaching the final, losing both times to Dominic Thiem.
Mark Metcalfe / Getty Images
Alexander Zverev of Germany hands over his broken racket to a fan after earning match point in his first round match at Melbourne Park.
On Monday it took Thiem, the No. 3 seed, about a set to get on his way to a 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-3 win over 90th-ranked Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan.
Thiem had been 0-3 in the Grand Slam finals until he emerged for the championship at Flushing Meadows in September. That ended a streak of 13 consecutive major titles for Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
The only seeded American at Melbourne Park, number 27 Taylor Fritz, also advanced on day one. The 23-year-old Californian edged Albert Ramos-Viñolas 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6).
This is the first time since 2015 that only one man from the US was among the top 32 players on the field in Australia.
Mark Metcalfe / Getty Images
Alas: Angelique Kerber of Germany bowed to Bernarda Pera of the United States in the first round.
Another American scored a much more unexpected victory in the women’s draw when 66th-ranked Bernarda Pera knocked out three-time major league champion and No. 25 seed Angelique Kerber 6-0, 6-4.
Kerber, who won the 2016 Australian Open, made 25 unforced errors and only had seven winners.
“It was probably not his best match,” Pera said, “but I’m happy to pass.”
