Austria’s young tennis star Joel Schwärzler had little to offer against the top-seeded German Alexander Zverev in Vienna in the first round: 2:6, 2:6.
Austria’s tennis future hope Joel Schwärzler had no chance in his debut appearance in the main competition of the Erste Bank Open. The 18-year-old from Vorarlberg had to admit defeat to the top-seeded German Alexander Zverev 2:6, 2:6 after just over an hour on Monday. This means that only Dominic Thiem is holding Austria’s flag high in the singles; in what will probably be his last game of his career, he will face the Italian Luciano Darderi on Tuesday (not before 6 p.m.).
Schwärzler enjoyed the loud reception at the very well-attended Center Court in the Wiener Stadthalle and showed no signs of being nervous in the early stages. After losing the first point, he won his serve thanks to good service and a powerful forehand. After Zverev’s equalizer, with a 40-0 lead, everything seemed to be in place for the ÖTV player to present again. However, careless mistakes wiped out the lead and the German used his first break point to make it 2-1.
Thread broken
By then Schwärzler’s thread was broken and he didn’t score a point in the three following games. He managed a small cosmetic result to make it 2:5 before Zverev again conceded a clean sheet after just over half an hour. In the second set, the big favorite got a break chance with the score at 1:1 and didn’t miss it. To make it 4:1, he took his opponent’s serve again and increased it to 5:1.
Alexander Zverev didn’t show any nakedness. GEPA pictures / Walter Luger
After that, the world number 347 was already on the verge of elimination, but was able to stay in the match for a short time by defending three match points. The third in the world rankings took advantage of opportunity number four with his own service. There was no sign of any after-effects of pneumonia on Zverev one day after his exhibition with Thiem. The American Alex Michelsen or his compatriot Marcos Giron are waiting for him in the round of 16 of the $2.626 million event.
„Super Talent“
In the winner’s interview on the pitch, Zverev described his opponent as a “super talent”. “I told him he was a lot closer than he might think after the match. “He will have a great career and will still be on the pitch here for the next 15 years,” said the German. He himself is setting his sights on the next triumph in Vienna; in 2021 he won the title at Vogelweidplatz. (APA)
1st round, Vienna
Alexander Zverev (GER-1) – Joel Schwärzler (AUT) 6:2, 6:2,
Flavio Cobolli (ITA) – Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (ESP) 7:6 (1), 6:3,
Matteo Berrettini (ITA) – Marton Fucsovics (HUN) 7:5, 6:4.
