Wimbledon 2021: 3 talking points from Alexander Zverev's solid win over Tennys Sandgren

Fourth seed Alexander Zverev continued his serene progress through the Wimbledon draw by beating Tennys Sandgren 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 on Thursday to reach the third round. Zverev will now play the winner of the all-American second-round match between Taylor Fritz and Steve Johnson for a place in the second week of the tournament.

Sandgren put up stern resistance before he got broken in the 11th game of the opener, which his opponent duly served out. From there, Zverev was all over the American.

Zverev won five games on the trot from 0-1 down in the second to effectively end the match as a contest. Sandgren had one look at the Zverev serve in the third set, but the opportunity went begging as the fourth seed sealed victory in under two hours.

On that note, let's have a look at three talking points from the German's comfortable win:

#1 Alexander Zverev put on a serving clinic once again

Continuing from his strong serving performance against Tallon Griekspoor, Alexander Zverev sent down 13 aces and conceded only two double faults against Tennys Sandgren.

Zverev got an impressive 72% of his first serves in, and won all but eight out of 50 of those points. The German was also strong on his second serve, winning 15 of 19 points for an impressive winning rate of 79.

#2 Alexander Zverev's return was almost as effective as his serve

Alexander Zverev was stronger than his opponent in every department on Thursday. Not only did he serve imperiously, but the German was also impressive in his return games.

Zverev consistently eked out break-point opportunities (10) on Sandgren's serve. He ended up converting five of them, which was pivotal in the eventual outcome.

The fourth seed broke once in the first set and twice apiece in the next two sets. With Zverev not losing his serve all match, Sandgren was up against it from the start.

#3 Alexander Zverev showcased his ability to win points at the net

Apart from his impressive serving and returning, Alexander Zverev also showed a penchant for winning points at the net against Tennys Sandgren.

Usually a baseliner, the tall German came to the net 34 times against the American and won 27 of those points. With an already strong serve and solid groundstrokes, Zverev has added another dimension to his grasscourt game as he looks to make a deep run at Wimbledon this year.

Zverev has never been past the fourth round here in five previous visits, but that could likely change based on the manner of his two wins at SW19 this week.

About the author

Bhargav is a veteran sports journalist and editor at Sportskeeda, with a rich professional experience of 17 years, working for the likes of Siemens and Bombay Dyeing. An avid football and tennis follower for over three decades, Bhargav uses his vast knowledge and experience, attention to detail, an unbiased yet interesting writing style, and thorough research to craft insightful articles, which have raked in over 20 million reads so far.

Bhargav supports Italy at national level, a team steeped in tradition and history according to him. He still harbors the heartbreak from the Azzurri’s 1994 FIFA World Cup final defeat against Brazil, and protagonist-turned-antagonist from the game, ‘Divine Ponytail’ Roberto Baggio is his all-time favorite player. His favorite manager is Marcelo Lippi, who ended Italy’s 24-year wait for the World Cup trophy, winning it in 2006.

Outside Europe’s top five leagues, he follows the MLS following Lionel Messi’s move in 2023 but favors Cristiano Ronaldo in the G.O.A.T. debate. During his free time, Bhargav enjoys driving off to new places and singing.

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Edited by Musab Abid