After destroying Jordan Thompson in the previous round, Alexander Zverev added another good win by beating Holger Rune fairly simply in two sets at the 2024 Canadian Open.
Zverev didn't look good at the Paris Olympics, and after admitting that he wasn't feeling good either, the German left his fans with anxious wait. He confirmed that he would be flying back to Germany for some testing, but he was unsure what issue he was dealing with.
To the surprise of some, he showed up in Montreal feeling amazing and thrashing his first-round opponent. What's even more impressive is that Thompson has been playing really well lately, but he was without any chances against Zverev.
Rune is an even more dangerous opponent on paper because he has some good hitting from both sides. The Dane also has a decent serve, which can add to the danger.
However, Zverev is also a very good fit on these courts. He, too, has a powerful serve, and after adopting a more attacking style this year, the German certainly looks very dangerous.
Rune would find that out quickly because his opponent broke him early in the match to take the lead. For the most part, he was largely unchallenged on his own serve, even though the Dane had some chances.
He had two break chances down 3-4 in the opening set, but Zverev saved both. Saving those break points iswaswhat ultimately won him the opening set. If Rune had broken there the momentum would shift to his side which Zverev didn't want to happen.
Instead, the momentum was on his side, and he could close out the first set, winning it 6-3, with yet another break. Rune was clearly dejected by the way that set went, and it showed in the following game.
Rune's problem was the inability to hit through his opponent. The way the matchup is set up, he needs to hit through Zverev or generally dictate points in most rallies.
He couldn't do that, especially not on the return, as Zverev dominated with four aces and hardly any dropped points behind his first serve. The only chances he had were also wasted, and that was not good enough.
This is not a matchup where he could get too many chances, so every unused chance mattered. Rune did better in the second set, at least at the start, because he could keep himself in the match.
However, Zverev wasn't giving anything to his opponent on his serve. Rune could hold out for a while, but eventually, the German did get a chance, and when he finally did, he broke immediately.
It came at the perfect time because he broke for a 5-3 lead, meaning he only needed one game to close the match. He didn't, as Rune broke back to make it 4-5, giving himself a chance.
The set ended up in a tie-break after Rune saved a match point, and it was Zverev who did better. He took an early mini-break and never let it go after that, winning the tie-break 7-5, and the match 6-3, 7-6(5).
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