Alexander Zverev on Monday eased past 17th seed Andrey Rublev in the fourth round of the men’s singles event at the ongoing Australian Open. The world number seven won 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 at the Melbourne Arena in one hour and 37 minutes to enter his first quarterfinal at the year’s first Grand Slam where he will face Stan Wawrinka.
The 22-year-old thoroughly outplayed his opponent while winning 75 per cent of points on 1st serve in comparison to Rublev’s 64. Zverev’s points on the second serve were massive 91 per cent. He converted three of his seven break points on his way to winning a total of 86 points against Rublev who was on a 15-match winning run including titles in Doha and Adelaide earlier this month.
“It feels amazing. I played some great matches against some great opponents. This is Andrey’s first loss of the season, having won two tournaments and getting through to the fourth round with unbelievable tennis. I’ve known Andrey since we were 10 years old… I think he will be Top 15, Top 10 very soon. I’m just happy and I hope I can continue,” Zverev was quoted as saying on the official website of the ATP Tour
Zverev hit 11 aces en route to set quarters clash with Stan Wawrinka who ousted world number four Daniil Medvedev. The 15th seed came on top of a gruelling five-setter by winning it 6-2, 2-6, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-2 at the Margaret Court Arena.
“That was an amazing match and an amazing atmosphere. It was really tough to play against Daniil. I had to raise my level in the fourth and fifth sets. The level was super high and the atmosphere is always something special here in Australia,” Wawrinka said.
Earlier, world number 5 Dominic Thiem eased past Gael Monfils in straight sets in the Round of 16. He won 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 at the Rod Laver Arena on Monday to enter the quarterfinals for the first time in Melbourne and become the first Austrian player to qualify for the last 8 since Stefan Koubek in 2002.