PARIS, May 26, 2016

Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev will meet in the third round of the French Open. It is the third time the pair will square off this season, following the Austrian youngster’s wins in Munich and Nice.

Alexander Zverev 

After Pierre Hugues Herbert, the German teenager beat with Stephane Robert the second Frenchman in Paris this year. Zverev withstood 11 aces from the 36-year-old veteran, hitting five of his own and converted seven of his 12 break points to secure a 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory in two hours and 10 minutes.

“It was a difficult match, he plays very flat and hits the ball pretty hard. I am happy to get the win,” Zverev was satisfied afterwards.

“The match against Dominic in Munich was pretty good, not that much in Nice. I was very tired, in particular in the third set I couldn’t do anything more. Back then, I was completely done from the matches before and i hope it will be different on Saturday,” Zverev is looking forward to meet his buddy on court again.

“We know each other well. We are best friends on the tour. We play a lot of computer games together but I am the better one,” he laughed. “We spend a lot of time together outside the courts, so it’s different compared with other players.” 

Alex Zverev and Nick Kyrgios

Later the afternoon, Zverev teamed up with Nick Kyrgios to take on the combination of Pablo Carreno-Busta and David Marrero but the pair lost 3-6, 6-4 in 59 minutes.

“We wanted to play doubles in Indian Wells but Nick was getting ill and so we decided to team up here in Paris. We had fun on the court today but it was difficult for me to play doubles after competing in such a difficult singles match before. We didn’t play the best tennis, but it was ok.”

Thiem battled past the second Spaniard en-route to the third round, winning  7-5, 6-4, 7-6 over Guillermo Garcia-López. The Austrian youngster dismissed Inigo Cervantes in his Paris opener. Thiem fired seven aces and hit 21 winners to prevail in two hours and 25 minutes.

Dominic Thiem

“It’s going to be the third match in just four weeks, I think. Munich, Nice, and here. He’s a very nice guy. We are good friends. He’s an excellent player, so it’s going to be a real tough match on Saturday for me. For him, too, I hope. In Nice, he was a little bit tired from the tournament, but on Saturday probably he’s not going to be tired. So it’s gonna be a really tough match,” Thiem is looking forward to his third round match and added:

“Sascha doesn’t have any weaknesses, actually. He’s returning really well. He’s so big and returns far behind the baseline and almost every return is in. There are not a lot of free points. For sure it’s gonna be also physically a tough match with long rallies. It’s very uncomfortable to play against him.”