LONDON (Reuters) – Fourth seed Alexander Zverev served strongly to overpower Dutch qualifier Tallon Griekspoor 6-3 6-4 6-1 on Tuesday and advance to the second round of Wimbledon.
The U.S. Open finalist had lost to qualifiers on his last two visits to the grasscourt Grand Slam but the 124th-ranked Griekspoor, making his Wimbledon main draw debut, did not have the game to challenge the tall German in their first meeting.
Play was suspended due to rain as the roof was closed on Court One with Zverev up a set and a break but the stoppage had no impact on the 24-year-old who continued to land a high percentage of his first serves in to dominate the match.
Zverev hit 20 aces, kept his unforced errors low and broke Griekspoor’s serve six times before sealing the match with a backhand winner down the line.
He will play American Tennys Sandgren or Norbert Gombos of Slovakia for a place in the third round.
(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; editing by Ed Osmond)
