ATP Tour

Zverev drops another set, yet wins again at Australian Open

Alexander Zverev continued to flirt with early danger at the Australian Open and then escaped it with relative ease on Friday.

For the third straight match, the German dropped a set, yet once again found another gear when it mattered. On John Cain Arena, the third seed rebounded from a second-set slip to defeat Cameron Norrie 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, extending his perfect record against the British lefty.

"The past two matches I thought were fantastic matches," Zverev said. "Both opponents challenged me but they challenged me because they were playing really good tennis and I was up to the task. Today Cameron I thought played the best match that we have ever played. I am happy with the win."

Zverev’s level rose steadily as the match wore on. He finished with an imposing 52-29 winners-to-unforced-errors ratio and was rock solid on serve, landing 72 per cent of his first deliveries during the two-hour, 46-minute clash. The win pushed his Lexus ATP Head2Head advantage against Norrie to 7-0.

"I thought I was hitting my forehand quite big and well," Zverev said. "Moving forward that is the shot that will make me win or make me lose. If I am hitting it that way and I feel confident in that shot, it is very important."

The victory sent Zverev into the fourth round in Melbourne for the seventh time, following earlier four-set wins against Gabriel Diallo and Alexandre Muller. No German man has reached the last 16 at the Australian Open more often, with Zverev now surpassing Boris Becker’s six appearances at that stage.

However, Zverev is still trying to turn deep runs into major glory. Last year, the No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings reached the final at the event for the first time and will continue his quest against Francisco Cerundolo.

Cerundolo leads Zverev 3-2 in their Head2Head series, but the German has won their past two meetings. The Argentine brushed aside Andrey Rublev 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3 to reach the fourth round in Melbourne for the first time. If Tomas Martin Etcheverry overcomes Alexander Bublik on Friday, it will be the first time that multiple Argentinian players have reached fourth round at the Australian Open since 2006.