crazy ball Rio Open: Alexander Zverev Admits To Losing 'Focus' After Surviving Round Of 32 Challenge

Alexander Zverev in action at the Rio Open Alexander Zverev in action at the Rio Open

Alexander Zverev acknowledged he had made things tougher than they needed to be after grinding out a 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 win over Buyunchaokete at the Rio Open. (More Tennis News)crazy ball

"When Pakistan is not playing cricket or hockey, I always support India. It's a much better side and one of the best Indian teams I have seen. They have improved a lot and they are giving hard times to the Europeans.

With the victory, they remained on course to win their second consecutive Olympic medal. However, the key defender’s suspension has sparked quite a bit of controversy. 

Playing his first-ever match at the tournament, the top seed had to save set point on his opponent's serve at 4-5 in the opener, eventually rallying to take it in a tie-break.

That first set featured four breaks of serve and saw Zverev only win 67% of points on his first serve, but he tidied things up in the second set, taking it with a single break in the fifth game.

In his post-match interview, Zverev said: "It was not a great match by me, but he played some good tennis. 

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"He made it difficult for me. It's surprising because, you know, I actually played really, really well in practice here the whole week, so I hope it's just the first match.

"I lost focus. I lost my shots and my rhythm a little bit. I went for it a bit too much and made it complicated for myself."

Football star in the house! @AlexZverev met @filipeluis after his match in Rio @RioOpenOficial | #RioOpen pic.twitter.com/8B8uZddiJO

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 19,swerte99 casino 2025

Zverev will face Kazakhstan's Alexander Shevchenko in the next round of the competition, where defending champion Sebastian Baez also advanced by overcoming fellow Argentine Roman Andres Burruchaga.

But Brazil's home hope Joao Fonseca, who has enjoyed a breakout campaign to date, fell at the first hurdle against France's Alexandre Muller.

The man of the moment... JOAO FONSECA IS IN THE HOUSE (with his best friend )@RioOpenOficial | #RioOpen pic.twitter.com/MvK8rS42Uj

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 19, 2025

Fonseca made a nervous and error-strewn start, and despite recovering in the second set, his 34 unforced errors proved insurmountable in a 6-1 7-6 (7-4) defeat.

Having triumphed against an opponent who enjoyed vocal support at the Jockey Club Brasileiro, Muller said: "It was tough to play against such a great player and perhaps 5,000 [fans], but I'm very happy to get the victory today. 

"I was feeling calm for half the match. I didn't take my chances to take the break in the second set, and then he was playing better and better. I played a great tie-break to finish."

Data Debrief: Zverev avoids upset

Zverev was not at his ruthless best on Tuesday, but his victory did improve his record against players outside the top 20 of the ATP rankings to 22-1 since the 2023 French Open.

On claycrazy ball, he is now 26-2 in first-round matches since 2020 – the last year in which he failed to reach at least the semi-finals at Roland-Garros.