London: Alexander Zverev moved a step closer to reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time as the French Open champion beat Marcos Giron in the third round on Saturday.
Zverev, seeded second, has failed to go beyond the fourth round in his past nine visits to the All England Club. But the 29-year-old German is on course to end that frustrating streak this year.
Fresh from finally winning his maiden Grand Slam title on clay at Roland Garros in June, Zverev is looking more comfortable than ever on the grass courts of south-west London.
He dispatched 92-ranked Giron 6-2, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 on Court One and will face Czech 13th seed Jiri Lehecka in the last 16.
“He plays fantastic on grass. I knew I had to be 100 percent ready from the first point and I’m very happy to be through in straight sets,” Zverev said.
“Winning in Paris, coming here with a title, it helps. It was my first one and I want to keep going.
“I feel different than last year. I feel like I play better tennis and have more confidence in important moments. I want to keep going and play more important matches.”
Fifth seed Alex de Minaur continued his impressive Wimbledon campaign by overcoming a spirited challenge from American Zachary Svajda 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 on Saturday to reach the fourth round at the All England Club for the third consecutive year.
The Australian took two hours and 41 minutes to secure his win, showing great composure after losing the second set. De Minaur broke Svajda's serve eight times and won an impressive 70 percent of his second-serve return points. He is on track for potentially his best Grand Slam performance.
"I thought it was a high-quality match. A lot of credit goes to Zach. He's a very talented player and made things tough for me," De Minaur said after the match.
"I was happy that I managed to stay mentally strong and maintain my level throughout the third and fourth sets. I felt that was key to winning today."
World No. 66 Svajda was competing in the Wimbledon main draw for the first time. He was just four places away from his career-high ranking and recovered well after a slow start, challenging the Australian throughout the match.
"Zach's got great timing on the ball. The first set threw me off a bit. I felt he didn’t start as strong as he could," De Minaur said.
"The difference between the first and second sets was significant. He became much more aggressive, hitting through the ball and changing directions more. I felt my slice worked well in the first set, but then it became less effective."
With a spot in the Wimbledon quarter-finals on the line, De Minaur will next face Roland Garros finalist Flavio Cobolli who beat Karen Khachanov 0-6 7-6 6-7 6-2 6-2.
Moreover, 13th seed Jiri Lehecka beat Jaume Munar 6-4 6-4 4-6 6-4. Agencies
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