"I got a bit unlucky, but I did nothing wrong" says Zverev after Rome win
ATP
Alexander Zverev was fully satisfied by the manner in which he navigated a tricky second-round match against Argentina's Sebastian Baez at the 2022 Italian Open.
Baez, 21, is one of the ATP's breakout stars of 2022. He has stepped up from playing Challenger level tennis to become a regular at the Tour level. The youngster captured his first title at the Estoril Open at the start of May, beating Frances Tiafoe in the final.
Additionally, he needed to pass two rounds of qualifying in Rome and a three-set victory over Tallon Griekspoor in the main draw to book a date against the former champion Zverev.
But it proved too steep a challenge for the Argentinian to extend his win streak to nine matches. He was beaten in 91 minutes by the world number three. Zverev almost let slip a huge lead in the first-set tie-break when he led 6-2, but he prevailed in straight sets.
Speaking after the match, Zverev was pleased with his performance and result, especially after a busy week in Madrid this past week, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the final. He opined that the change in playing conditions presented an obstacle.
"I’m [very pleased], especially coming from Madrid to here. It’s not always not easy because Madrid is at altitude and the balls are flying like crazy, but here everything is pretty slow. It wasn’t an easy match and I’m happy with the way I played at the end. He played three matches already here, it’s my first, so I’m happy with the win."
"At the end of the day I feel like I did nothing wrong. I got a little bit unlucky, made one unforced error with my overhead, but those are not easy shots either. In the end you have to fight until the very last moment, and the first set was [very important] for me."
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