Tp-seeded Alexander Zverev was overwhelmed in his first match in the Munich ATP tournament by 18-year-old Dane Holger Rune 6-3, 6-2 on Wednesday.
The German, ranked third in the world had been given a bye in the first round of a tournament he won in 2017, 2018, but only lasted in 1 hour 39 minutes in his second-roud match against the 70th-ranked Rune.
“He’s in the top three in the world and has been playing some unbelievable tennis,” Rune said in his on-court interview. “I obviously didn’t expect to win in two sets, and with a score like this. But it was a really hard match, we played a lot of rallies and I’m really happy about my performance.
“ Rune broke in the second game to lead 3-0. At 5-3 he had six set points. He squandered four set points on unforced errors in the ninth game. Then Zverev saved the fifth with a winner, before Rune converted the sixth by putting away a volley. Rune again broke at once in the second set and broke again to lead 5-1.
While Rune had won the opening match in each of his last for tournaments, this was the first time this year he had won two matches in a row at an ATP event.—APP
