Alexander Zverev was playing some solid tennis at the 2023 Bastad Open, but he couldn't overcome Andrey Rublev, who booked the semi-finals.
Zverev returned with a win in Bastad and while it was a hard-working one, it was still a much-needed win for the German. The second match was far easier for the German as he smashed Thiago Monteiro in two simple sets.
It was a great way to distract himself from a new set of allegations of abuse he is facing back home in Germany. The allegations didn't prove a distraction against Rublev in this match either but he was simply outplayed by his good friend.
The first set was a rather simple one from Rublev who easily outplayed Zverev. The German didn't serve poorly but he didn't serve great either. His second serve was quite vulnerable against Rublev who did a lot of damage by winning the majority of those rallies.
It proved more than enough for the easy 6-2 finish in the opening set for Rublev. The second set saw Zverev raise his level a bit as Rublev remained constant. The Russian would ultimately get another break chance and he would get it done taking a 5-3 lead before finally closing out the match 6-3.
The final score was 6-2 6-3 for Rublev who was quite dominant in this one. He served better than Zverev which was important and he outplayed him in the crucial rallies. Rublev saved both break points he faced while converting three of the 5 break points Zverev allowed him.
The match lasted a little over an hour and the major issue for Zverev was that he won only 5 points of 16 on his second serve. Ultimately the German lives and dies by his serve no matter how great of a player is. That has been a constant throughout his career.
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