Rome winner Alexander Zverev will look to keep his winning streak going on Saturday afternoon when he takes on Tallon Griekspoor for a spot in the fourth round. The German leads the head-to-head 3-1 with the most recent win coming at Indian Wells, where he won 7-6 6-3.
26th seed Griekspoor has had a solid year so far, making it to the third round in both slams after his most recent outing. He made it past Luciano Darderi in round two with 15 aces helping on his way to an impressive 7-6 6-3 6-3 win over the highly rated Italian. The Dutchman has a fairly rounded game with a strong serving and good net play at the centre of it.
There was no hangover from the Nadal win for Zverev, who navigated a potentially tricky clash against David Goffin with the minimum of fuss. He pulled away after a tight opener, eventually coming through 7-6 6-2 6-2 thanks to some strong play on service games throughout. “When it is heavy, when it is slow, it is not ideal for me. I am someone who likes to be extremely aggressive, so when it is like that, it is not ideal,” Zverev said. “I felt the ball well today. Maybe a few mistakes but I knew David is an incredible player and someone who was difficult for me in the past. It showed in the first set, but I am happy I ran away with it.”
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Zverev is playing the best tennis of those outside the Top 3 right now and should have enough who may find it difficult to live with him in punishing rallies throughout. When he serves well, the German is very difficult to beat and it does feel like he should find things fairly straight forward for a few more rounds. Griekspoor is also carrying a thumb injury at the moment, making things even tougher for him.
Prediction – Alexander Zverev in straight sets
