Alexander Zverev had a very difficult fourth-round task against an inspired Cameron Norrie, but he handled it well and reached the 2024 Australian Open quarterfinals.
The German player had to play already two long matches at the event, as he barely avoided a loss against qualifier Lukas Klein. On the other hand, the Brit overcame Casper Ruud in his third-round match, and he was clearly a threat for Zverev.
In the opening set of the match, both players held their serve easily, but that was only until the eleventh game, when Norrie made a few unforced errors, and Zverev didn't wait around but used his chance to break the Brit's serve to win the opening serve 7-5.
Also the second set started better for the sixth seed, who after another break, led 3-2 in the second set. However, an inspired performance from Norrie saw him recover a break and add another one to win the second set 6-3.
But in the third set, it was again Zverev who established an early lead. The German was already up 4-1 when a protester interrupted the match. That didn't bother the German player, who kept his composure and won the third set 6-3.
But in the fourth set, Norrie was the better player again, and this time, he held his serve perfectly, while creating also break point chances to win the fourth set of the match 6-4 and force the decider.
The fifth set was a real rollercoaster, but ultimately, the match tie-break had to decide who will reach the quarterfinals, and most likely play against Carlos Alcaraz.
But after four hours of play, Norrie couldn't keep up with Zverev, who won the super tie-break 10-3, winning the match 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(3) to reach the quarterfinals of the 2024 Australian Open.
Alexander Zverev | Cameron Norrie | |
---|---|---|
15 | Aces | 10 |
6 | Double Faults | 2 |
76% | First Serve % | 63% |
76% (87/114) | Points Won After First Serve % | 69% (73/106) |
44% (16/36) | Points Won After Second Serve % | 52% (33/63) |
29% (4/14) | Break Point Conversion | 40% (4/10) |
54 | Winners | 56 |
41 | Unforced Errors | 63 |