Anderson, Zverev advance to third round at Madrid Open

South Africa’s Kevin Anderson advanced to the third round of the Madrid Open yesterday when he prevailed over Russia’s Mikhail Kuku shin, 5/7; 7/6 (3); 6/2 on a day second-seeded Alexander Zverev defeated another Russian, Evgeny Donskoy 6/2; 7/5.

America’s John Isner powered past compatriot Ryan Harrison in a battle of serves that ended 7/6(1); 7/6 (7).Anderson lost the first set and was a game away from defeat but he served to level six-all in the second set that ended in a tie break that he won out of two crucial mini-breaks. The Russian seemed deflated as his opponent proceeded to take the decider quickly with a score of 6/2.

Anderson will next face Germany’s Phillip Kohlschreiber, who outlasted Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut in a close encounter that ended 6/3; 4/6; 7/5.The second seed, Alexander Zverev continued his impressive clay court season. In the week preceding Madrid, he won his second consecutive BMV Open in his native country. In Madrid, his second round match against Russia’s Evgeny Donskoy was his opener. He served brilliantly and did not face a single break point throughout the match. He won the points on serve eighty-five percent of successful deliveries.

His opponent, however, was broken in his first serve of the match. A second break at 2-4 handed the German the opportunity to serve out the set that he won 6/2. The second set was a ding-dong affair as each player held serve.

In the 11th game, Zverev took the game on his opponent’s serve and promptly served out the set to win the match. He will next face Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer.The all-American face-off between Ryan Harrison and John Isner decided the issue of powerful serves on a slow surface, such as clay. The two hard servers drilled their deliveries across the net and there was no single break of serve throughout the match. Inevitably the two sets were decided by a tie break in which Isner’s serving prowess prevailed, as he delivered 22 aces, including one at match point. The world number nine player will next face Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas (a semi-finalist in 2017 Madrid Open), who sent out another Spanish player, Albert Ramos Vinolas.