Alexander Zverev had a successful start to his clay-court season at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, defeating Alexander Bublik 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 in one hour and 58 minutes. The German player was competing on clay for the first time since his retirement from the 2022 Roland Garros semi-final match against Rafael Nadal due to a right ankle injury.
Despite a slow start, Zverev recovered well and showed his agility on the court, sliding into shots to hit 21 winners and committing only nine unforced errors.
He spoke about the challenges he faced during the match, saying that Bublik played well tactically and did not let him play his game. He also acknowledged that he needed time to get used to sliding on clay again and to get the injury out of his head.
However, Zverev added that clay is the most natural surface for him and that it usually takes him only a few minutes to adjust to it.
With his win over Bublik, Zverev improved to 1-2 in his ATP Head2Head series against the Kazakh player. He will next face Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, and fans are excited to see how he performs in his upcoming matches.
Zverev has had a successful season so far and will be looking to continue his winning streak as he competes in more clay-court events leading up to the Roland-Garros.
