LONDON: French Open champion Alexander Zverev swept into the Wimbledon third round with a 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) win against Valentin Royer on Thursday.
Bidding to become the seventh man in the Open era to win back-to-back Roland Garros and Wimbledon titles, Zverev dispatched the French world number 75 in impressive style on Court One.
Zverev was pushed hard by Belgian youngster Alexander Blockx in his opening match, but Royer was no match for the imperious German.
The 29-year-old ended his long wait for a maiden Grand Slam title at the French Open last month but has never performed well at Wimbledon.
He has a golden opportunity to at least reach the quarterfinals for the first time at the 10th time of asking, with Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic in the other half of the draw, and fourth seed Ben Shelton already knocked out.
“If I keep playing like this I definitely think it can happen this year,” said Zverev.
“In tennis you need to have a short-term memory, whether it’s good or bad.
“I won the French Open which for me, I’ve been waiting for that Grand Slam for such a long time... Two weeks later we’re here at Wimbledon and it’s such a short turnaround.”
After losing the opening game of the first set, Zverev reeled off a blistering run of nine successive games.
Zverev was in complete command as he secured his 50th Tour-level match-win on grass.
The second seed, who has appeared in four Grand Slam finals, will face American world number 92 Marcos Giron in the last 32.
Reigning champion Iga Swiatek returned to her brilliant best in a 6-1, 6-3 thrashing of former world number one Karolina Pliskova in the second round.
The Polish third seed, who suffered a shock last-16 exit from the French Open last month, was tearful after a scrappy opening win over Taylor Townsend.
But she made short work of a potentially tricky tie against 2021 Wimbledon runner-up Pliskova on Centre Court, racing into a 4-0 lead and never looking back.
A showdown between two American 20-somethings born to Russian immigrants turned into an almighty scrap at Wimbledon as Amanda Anisimova displayed her powers of resilience to ?ame Sofia Kenin 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(10-3) in the second round.
Marie Bouzkova and Emma Navarro, who met in the final of the Nottingham Open two weeks ago, advanced to the third round with contrasting victories .
While Bouzkova overcame Italian qualifier Tyra Caterina Grant in straight sets, Navarro rallied past Oksana Selekhmeteva in three sets as both advanced to the next stage.
No. 21 seed Bouzkova recovered from an early break in the opening set to defeat Grant 7-5, 6-3, reaching the third round at Wimbledon for the third time. Her best Grand Slam result came at the All England Club in 2022, when she reached the quarterfinals.
The Czech improved to 7-2 on grass this season and will next face Liudmila Samsonova, last year's Wimbledon quarterfinalist, who upset No. 15 seed Diana Shnaider 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 to reach the third round. Samsonova holds a 3-2 edge in the head-to-head series on the WTA Tour, Driven by Mercedes-Benz, although Bouzkova won their only previous meeting on grass.
Navarro, who fell to Bouzkova in the Nottingham final, rallied past Oksana Selekhmeteva 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 to reach the third round at the All England Club for the third consecutive year. The American reached the quarterfinals in 2024 and the fourth round last year.
She has now won 14 of her past 18 tour-level matches and will next face either No. 12 seed Marta Kostyuk or Anna Blinkova.
Alexandra Eala of the Philippines continued her onward march at Wimbledon, scoring a fine comeback victory over Maya Joint to secure a maiden entry into the third round .
In the opening stages of the match, Australia's Joint took an early lead, looking as sharp as she did during her win against Serena Williams a couple of days back.
But Eala clawed her way back, buoyed by vocal support from fans bearing the Filipino flag. In the deciding set, Eala, 21, scored a crucial early break and powered through to a 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 win in just under two hours.
The 6th seed Amanda Anisimova beat Sofia Kenin 6-2 4-6 7-6, Maria Sakkari beat Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3 0-6 7-6, Madison Keys beat Katie Swan 6-1 6-4.
In men’s section, last year’s semifinalist Taylor Fritz continued his smooth progress at Wimbledon by mowing down fellow American Patrick Kypson 6-2 6-2 7-5 to make the third round.
Fifth-seeded Alex de Minaur also advanced in straight sets, beating Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
Moreover, Jaume Munar beat Jacob Fearnley 6-4 6-7 6-4, Marcos Giron beat Quentin Halys 7-6 6-3 6-4, Zizou Bergs beat Jaime Faria 7-6 4-6 6-2 6-3, Arthur Fery beat Otto Virtanen 5-7 7-6 6-3 6-3. Agencies
Also Read: Ravichandran Ashwin Questions ODI Cricket's Future, Says T20 Is Here to Stay