MELBOURNE, January 22, 2017
Mischa Zverev put on a great Sunday afternoon show on Rod Laver Arena, knocking out World No. 1 Andy Murray 7-5, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open for the first time in his career.
The 29-year-old German impressed with a decent performance, seeking his way to the net as often as possible. Producing an old-school display of serve-and-volley tennis, Zverev put a lot of pressure on the Briton, who did not really find a range on his passing shots.
The World No. 50 won 65 of his 118 net point approaches and capitalized on eight of his 17 break point opportunities to secure victory in three hours and 33 minutes.
#mischazverev the giant killer post game interview on Rod Laver Arena #AusOpen. pic.twitter.com/Sa8N8AyUIs
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) 22. Januar 2017
“He Deserved To Win”
“He came up with some great pickups, reflex volleys especially at the end of the match when it was tight. That was tough because I was hitting some good shots, chasing some good balls down,” Murray told.
“Just wasn’t meant to be. He served very well when he needed to, especially when he was behind in games. He deserved to win because, he played great when he was down, and also in the important moments. I was kind of behind in the last couple of sets the whole way. But the first two sets, I had chances. I was up a break I think in both of them pretty early. I couldn’t convert my opportunities.”
Aske about his missed opportunity to win the Australian Open, Murray stated:
“At the biggest events you want to do your best. That hasn’t been the case here but it happens. I have had tough losses in the past and I have come back from them. Even if I got through this, you have Roger plus three guys in the top 10 in the world in my half. There were no guarantees I would have gone forward. I don’t think this was any more of an opportunity than other years.”
Zverev has become the lowest-ranked player to beat a top seed at a Grand Slam since No. 86 Marat Safin defeated Andy Roddick at the 2004 Australian Open
The Moscow native is also the first German to beat a World No. 1 in a Grand Slam since Boris Becker beat Andre Agassi in the semi-finals at Wimbledon 1995.
Zverev also got a new fan:
John McEnroe is certainly impressed by Mischa #Zverev‘s serve and volley game: “You did it old school.” #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/16INJgfATP
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) 22. Januar 2017
The men’s draw has become open now. The last time the top two seeds exited a major prior to the quarterfinals was at the 2002 Australian Open when Lleyton Hewitt and Gustavo Kuerten both lost in the opening round.
Zverev awaits the winner of the encounter between Roger Federer and Kei Nishikori.
