Alexander Zverev had a tough job to do, but the German showed up in the best possible way to oust Christopher O'Connell in two sets.
The Australian had a really crazy first-round match at the ATP 1000 tournament in Indian Wells. He took on Jack Draper and lost the opening set 1-6. He managed an early break in the second and held it to win the set and then outplayed Drpaer sensationally to win in three sets.
He played really well in that match and has generally looked pretty good this year. That made it quite tough for Zverev, who nevertheless handled it about as well as he possibly could.
The German has been impressive from the start of this year. He made the semi-final in Melbourne and barely missed out on the final. This match was not his best ever, but it was rather good and certainly better than his last one.
The opening set was pretty close, and it would have been even closer if the Australian managed to hit his serve consistently. He hit it only 46% of the time, which was a problem against Draper, too.
He was on par with the German when it came to the tennis side, but ultimately, the lack of free points cost him. The second set was, again, pretty similar. O'Connell still played rather well, but not quite well enough.
Zverev risked a bit in this set, but it worked out for him as he broke midway through the set. After that, he was able to save a couple of break points but then still got broken.
O'Connell was able to make it 4-4, after which Zverev took a 5-4 lead. He was then able to break and close out the match. The Australian played a pretty good match, but he never quite got over the hump when he needed to.
When you're playing against some of the best, you need to be that sharp. Ultimately, he wasn't, and Zverev was able to escape in two sets: 6-4 and 6-4.
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