Alexander Zverev surprisingly lost already in the first round of the 2023 Japan Open, losing to Australia's Jordan Thompson.
After the draw for the 2023 Japan Open came out, it was clear that fans at the ATP 500 tournament in Tokyo will get to see many interesting matches. And one of those was the first-round clash between Zverev and Thompson.
The two met only once before, and it was six years ago, but as expected, the German handled that match well, winning in three sets. But this time, the situation was vastly diferent.
Zverev lost in his last match in Beijing to Daniil Medvedev; he then suffered a first-round loss in Shanghai to Roman Safiullin, and the 26-year-old was coming to Tokyo with four consecutive sets lost.
And Thompson certainly wanted to expose his opponent's weaknesses and vulnerability, and he managed to do that. Zverev had three break points in the opening game, but he couldn't use any of his chances.
On the other hand, Thompson used one of his three break points in game number four, and after the German left another break point unused in the ninth game, the Australian won the opening set 6-3.
The second set started well for the former world no. 2, who led 2-0 after an early break, but after an unexpected twist, the match went the opposite way as Thompson immediately broke back.
After that, the Australian added one more break in the ninth game, and after he confirmed it with a hold of serve, it was game over for Zverev, whose ATP Finals chances will take a big hit.
Thompson won 6-3, 6-4, and he will play against the winner of the match between Ben Shelton and Taro Daniel in the second round of the tournament. On the other hand, Zverev will focus on the remainder of the schedule to earn some extra points and secure the ATP Finals qualification.
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