Zverev remains red hot with Rotterdam upset of Simon

Fresh off a semifinal performance last week in Montpellier, Alexander Zverev kept up his breakout form by upsetting Gilles Simon 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(4) in two hours and 55 minutes during second-round action at theABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament on Thursday.

A back-and-forth affair saw Zverev surge ahead by a set and a break. Simon recovered to steal the second frame of play before seizing a break advantage in the third. But the third-seeded Frenchman could not shut the door, as Zverev clawed back and ultimately forced a decisive tiebreaker. The 18-year-old German soon sealed up a big victory with consecutive mini-breaks at 5-4 and 6-4, both on netted errors off the Simon racket.

“The crowd helped me so much,” Zverev assured. “I really had to give it all I’ve got. When I was cramping (in the third set), my box was worried. But I fought hard and stayed in there. Gilles can run all day long so it was tough for me physically.”

Zverev will have to rebound quickly because his reward is a quarterfinal date with another Frenchman–Gael Monfils–on Friday.

“We’ll see how I feel because right now I’m quite exhausted,” he added, “but I am very happy to be in the quarterfinals.”

Simon hot shot:

Zverev interview:

At the Memphis Open, meanwhile, Donald Young’s week got off to a roaring start on Thursday afternoon when he took care of Marcel Granollers 6-1, 7-6(2). The 48th-ranked American donated serve in the opening game of the match but promptly reeled off six in a row to take the first set without any trouble. It was Granollers’ turn to battle back from a break down in the second, which the veteran Spaniard did to force his way into a tiebreaker. But Young turned things back in his favor by rolling through the ‘breaker with the loss of only two points.

“It was good,” Young commented. “Apart from the first game it was a really solid match. I was able to be aggressive and put some pressure on and not allow him to do the usual mix of shots that he likes to pull out. I didn’t want to go three. Anything could happen in the third if he got momentum.

“This year, it’s the best I’ve played–even though I haven’t played many matches.“

Young’s next match will come on Friday against Ricardas Berankis, who beat Damir Dzumhur 6-3, 6-4 in the second round.

[polldaddy poll=9307154]
[polldaddy poll=9307155]