Alexander Zverev made his debut at the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires and showed that he is in good shape, despite having little time to get used to the red clays after the Australian Open. The German ace who arrived in Argentina well in advance to practice hard showed flashes of excellent tennis against a very fearsome player on this surface like Dusan Lajovic.
The world number 2 prevailed over the Serbian with a double 6-4 and reiterated that he wanted to get the best possible result this week.
The champion from Hamburg took some time to overcome the disappointment at the Australian Open, in which he came within just one victory of the trophy before being demolished by Jannik Sinner in the final. Sascha had been very himself after that match doubting that he could win a Major title in the future, but this period of time allowed him to reflect and start believing in his talent again.
Zverev will face Cerundolo
His next opponent in Baires will be local idol Francisco Cerundolo, who is not going through the best moment of his career but who can put anyone in trouble on these courts. The Argentine ace who recently announced the addition of Pablo Cuevas to his team already beat Sascha at the Mutua Madrid Open last year.
During his press conference, the world number 2 spoke about this challenge: "Cerundolo is a very good player and is very dangerous, especially on red clay. I would say he is one of the best players in the world on this surface. He defeated me in Madrid last year playing an exceptional match, while my performance was very bad in that circumstance.
I know he's a high-level opponent, which is why I'll have to play my best tennis to take revenge."
The 2025 AO finalist has to watch his back from Carlitos Alcaraz, who came close to him in the ATP rankings thanks to his triumph in Rotterdam last week.
