Alexander Zverev started the match against Tallon Griekspoor slowly, then rallied to take the lead, and then crumbled to almost lose the match before finally heroically winning.
Zverev was the overwhelming favorite against Griekspoor at the 2024 Roland Garros, but the German entered the match very anemic. He was slow and the Dutch player took advantage of that.
He didn't do anything special in the opening set, but he won the set as he should have because Zverev gave it away. The German stepped up and played far better in the second set.
Still, there was no breakthrough as Griekspoor held his serve. The Dutch player is known as a very tricky player who can be tough to break. Many of his matches feature tie-breaks, and this match wasn't an exception.
In the second set, Griekspoor's poor serving game came when Zverev was up 5-4, which was the perfect timing to break, which he did to win the first 6-4.
That momentum shift won him the third set before it even began, as Griekspoor looked very absent in that one. 6-2 was the final score, as the Dutch player took a medical timeout for an upper leg issue.
The match seemingly trended to the finish line but only seemingly as it ended up in a fifth set. Yes, Zverev lost the fourth set largely because Griekspoor played some amazing tennis out of nowhere, surprising both his opponent and himself.
Some really questionable choices by the German certainly contributed to losing the set. The final set opened really well for Griekspoor. He broke Zverev and then held from 0-40 down to take a 2-0 lead. Griekspoor kept applying the pressure as Zverev sank deeper and deeper, and suddenly, he was down 1-4 in the final set.
An upset was looming, but Zverev heroically battled back to force a tiebreak. It was played to 10, and Zverev won it pretty easily, 10-3 to win the match 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(3).
Alexander Zverev vs Tallon Griekspoor Match Stats:
| Alexander Zverev | 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(3) | Tallon Griekspoor |
| 10 | Aces | 5 |
| 5 | Double Faults | 6 |
| 75% | First Serve % | 69% |
| 69% (80/116) | Points Won After First Serve % | 67% (74/111) |
| 55% (21/38) | Points Won After Second Serve % | 48% (24/50) |
| 28% (5/18) | Break Point Conversion | 40% (4/10) |
| 55 | Winners | 56 |
| 41 | Unforced Errors | 59 |
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