LONDON: Germany’s Alexander Zverev fired 20 aces past Dutch qualifier Gijs Brouwer to move into the Wimbledon second round with a hard-earned 6-4 7-6(4) 7-6(5) win on Thursday.
The 19th seed did not have an easy tournament start against the world number 153, whose own first serve percentage matched that of Zverev, and with the German getting just two break opportunities in total in the first two sets.
He next plays another lower-ranked player in Japan’s world number 116 Yosuke Watanuki with little time to rest as the schedule has been reworked following all the rain delays.
“He was a very tough opponent and the rain was a very tough opponent,” said Zverev, whose match was one of the last first- round clashes to finish. “I’m just happy to be back at Wimbledon.”
